Occupational Gender Research Articles

Occupational segregation and gender pay gap dynamics in the formal sector of South Africa

Orientation: The participation of women in the labour force in South Africa has improved and, whilst the gender pay gap is narrowing, it remains persistent. Gender integration in occupations has been slow, and there remains a strong association between income and factors such as gender and occupations.Research purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the improved labour force participation of women on occupational gender segregation. The term gender is used synonymously with sex in this article, referring to biological (rather than psychological) gender.Motivation for study: Status of occupational gender segregation is a good measure of effect of the increased labour force participation of women and narrowing the gender pay gap.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional study with descriptive and analytic components was conducted. The gender representation and pay gap were determined in 10 job families, across six industries.Main findings: Seven occupations have achieved integration at various levels, and three occupations remain fully segregated. The gender pay gap in favour of men in male-dominated occupations is narrower than in female-dominated occupations. A statistically significantly large gap in favour of women was found in some male-dominated occupations.Practical/managerial implications: Convergence towards similar pay for work of similar value has been achieved in occupations in various industries.Contribution/value-add: The number of men in an occupation, whilst still a causal factor in the pay gap, was found to no longer be sufficient to deduce that the income of that occupation would be higher, as postulated in literature.

Do Gender Conformity Pressure and Occupational Knowledge Influence Stereotypical Occupation Preferences in Middle Childhood?

This study investigates how perceived occupational knowledge, gender stereotypes, and pressure to conform to gender norms influence children’s career interests in a sample of fourth and fifth grade children (n = 178, Mage = 9.78 years, 46.6% girls). Children were interested in and perceived that they knew more about own gender dominated occupations, compared to other gender dominated occupations. Gender moderated the effect of gender conformity pressure and gender stereotypes on interest in female-dominated but not male-dominated occupations. Boys were less interested in female-dominated occupations when they felt pressure to conform to gender norms and held more stereotypical beliefs about those occupations. These results suggest that perceived occupational knowledge is an important, yet overlooked, factor in understanding gender differences in children’s occupational interests.

Culture’s Gendered Consequences: The Relationship Between Local Cultural Conditions and the Gender Wage Gap

Local economic conditions have been found to be highly influential in shaping patterns of gender inequality across the United States. Less attention, however, has been directed toward exploring the role of cultural characteristics, such as gender norms toward women’s leadership and family divisions of labor. Using data from the American Community Survey and the General Social Survey, we examine the relationship between local gender norms and levels of the gender wage gap across US commuting zones. Results indicate that gender egalitarian family norms predict lower gender wage gaps, while norms toward women’s suitability for leadership are unrelated to wage inequality between women and men. Investigating the mechanisms by which local norms relate to gender wage gaps, we find that family gender norms are unrelated to occupational gender segregation. Instead, egalitarian gender norms toward the family division of labor are associated with greater within-occupation wage equality, indicating that women and men in the same occupations have more equitable opportunities and compensation in contexts where family expectations are shared equally.

Public safety personnel, personality, and gender

IntroductionPublic safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional employees, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators [PSC]) are regularly exposed to diverse risks; as such, PSP professions may attract and retain people with personalities that differ relative to each other and the general public. The current study provides the first detailed analyses of personality traits and gender differences among Canadian PSP. MethodsCanadian PSP (n = 4303) completed a web-based questionnaire including demographic items and the six-factor Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI). A two-way MANOVA was conducted with individuals grouped by occupation and gender, and HEXACO personality scores entered as dependent variables. ResultsThere were significant (p < .01) effects of occupation (ηp2 = 0.008) and gender (ηp2 = 0.009) for the six personality factors, with a significant interaction effect (p < .01; ηp2 = 0.002). Occupational differences were most notable in terms of Emotionality, Extraversion, while few differences were found related to Honesty-Humility and Agreeableness. Women PSP were higher than men PSP on Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, and Agreeableness. PSP scored higher on Honesty-Humility and Extraversion than community and college samples. ConclusionSmall, but statistically significant, differences in personality traits were identified among PSP occupational groups and gender. The results indicate individuals who choose PSP occupations may share some personality traits.

Drivers of household demand for cooking energy: A case of Central Uganda

In Uganda, the total primary household energy consumption is mainly biomass. Lack of empirical information remains a daunting challenge to operationalization of strategies and policies aimed at reducing unsustainable energy use. This study specifically determined household demand for different cooking energy sources (briquettes, charcoal and firewood). Data were collected from a sample of 235 households with the help of pretested structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR). From the econometric analysis, results revealed that briquettes demand was significantly influenced by fuel expenditure, briquette price, gender of household head, main occupation and source of fuel. Further, charcoal demand was influenced by fuel expenditure, household size, charcoal price, district and fuel restriction. On the other hand, demand for firewood was influenced by household income, firewood price, fuel expenditure, household size and source of the fuel. From our findings, it is recommended that tailored trainings on sustainable exploitation of biomass resources for energy supply should be conducted across the country. In addition, there is need for such trainings to target women, who are the decision makers with respect to household energy supply. Lastly the study recommends the need for low-cost briquetting technologies that would reduce its price to levels that are competitive to charcoal and firewood.

Thermal comfort assessment of stone historic religious buildings in a hot and humid climate during cooling season. A case study

The adaptive reuse of historic buildings, as well as the maintenance of their optimal indoor environments for structural and collections preservation, are inherently complex, multifaceted goals. Moreover, indoor environments do not only affect collections and building—the occupants’ satisfaction must also be considered. In this study, a field investigation of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) particularly focused on thermal comfort following a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) process applied to a case study where a combination of microclimate monitoring and questionnaire surveys were carried out during the problematic cooling season in the hot and humid climate of San Antonio, Texas (USA). Mission Concepción de Acuña (part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a unique historic settlement that includes a limestone church which reflects a similar typology to multiple religious buildings distributed across the southwestern USA. Results of these investigations show that: i) the current indoor environment did not always achieve occupants’ thermal satisfaction, displaying thermal discomfort when the indoor/outdoor thermal leap is larger (August and September); ii) Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) values were considerably different throughout the monitoring period, with TSV mostly included within the (−1, 0, +1) band and PMV mainly within the (−2, −3) band; iii) impact of occupant age, gender and clothing on TSV values is limited. Finally, outcomes of this article underline the limitations of Fanger’s model when applied to such typology of buildings, highlighting the necessity for more investigation in this topic.

Adult occupant injury risk in rear impact and frontal impact: Effect of impact conditions and occupant-related factors

Objectives The objectives of this study were to compare the adult occupant injury risk on specific body regions in frontal and rear impact and to investigate the effect of those crash conditions and occupant-related factors on the injury risk. Method Data from the NASS-CDS and Crash Investigation Sampling System were studied for crashes during 2000 to 2019 involving model year 2000 to 2020 motor vehicles, including frontal collisions and rear-end collisions. The injury risk by specific body regions were compared by descriptive statistics, and logistic regression models were developed to examine the effects of various factors on injury risk by specific body regions, controlling for crash type (frontal impact and rear impact), vehicle impact speed, vehicle impact location, vehicle model year, and occupant gender, age, belt use, and seating position. Results After controlling for the confounding factors, the occupants in frontal impact had higher overall injury risk than in rear impact (at Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale [MAIS] 3+; odds ratio [OR] = 6.23; 95% confidence interval [CI] [6.06–6.40]), except for lower neck/spine injury risk at MAIS 1+ (OR = 0.47; 95% CI [0.46–0.47]). The impact speed (at MAIS 3+; OR = 1.10; 95% CI [1.10–1.10]) and aging (at MAIS 3+; OR = 1.05; 95% CI [1.05–1.05]) increase overall injury risk, and the unbelted occupants had higher overall injury risk than belted occupants not only in frontal impact (at MAIS 3+; OR = 4.04; 95% CI [3.98–4.10]), but also in rear impact (at MAIS 3+; OR = 28.4; 95% CI [26.4–30.5]). Females had higher overall injury risk than males in frontal impact (at MAIS 3+; OR = 2.01; 95% CI [1.99–2.04]) but not in rear impact (at MAIS 3+; OR = 0.77; 95% CI [0.73–0.81]). Conclusions Occupants in rear impact had lower injury risk than in frontal impact at MAIS 1+ to MAIS 3+, except for neck/spine at MAIS 1+. The belt restraint was effective not only in frontal impact but also in rear impact. This study provided injury risk references for current vehicles that may provide insight to the potential injury risk of rear-facing occupants in future vehicle configurations.

The development of explicit occupational gender stereotypes in children: Comparing perceived gender ratios and competence beliefs

Overcoming gender occupational stereotypes is a major educational objective in removing barriers to children's future career ambitions and employment aspirations. Yet, the mechanisms that underlie the development of occupational stereotypes in school-age children remain unclear. This questionnaire study investigates the developmental relationship between two possible factors contributing to occupational stereotype development, perceptions of occupational gender ratio and personal beliefs about occupational competence, across the primary school years. One questionnaire assessed beliefs about the occupations held by men and women, by asking 195 children, aged 6 to 11 (UK Years 2 to 6), to report on the gender ratio of 24 occupations (e.g., who does a specific job) on a 5-point Likert scale (only males, mostly males, both, mostly females or only females). A second questionnaire assessed stereotyped attitudes by asking 194 children of comparable age to judge the competence of men and women (e.g., who can do a specific job very well) on the same scale. We found that children across age groups predominantly assigned men and women to traditionally male and female occupations, respectively, both in terms of perceived distribution and competence. However, while the perceived distribution of men and women remained stable across the sexes and age groups, stereotyped responding for competence was lower in girls than in boys, and decreased with age in both sexes for traditionally male and gender-neutral (but not for traditionally female), occupations. Some occupations which have become less gender-segregated in the workforce (e.g., Doctor, Head teacher), are also becoming more gender-balanced in children's beliefs. Taken together these results suggest that children's occupational stereotypes are influenced by developmental differences in children's understanding of gender, as well as perceptions about what jobs women and men have. We conclude by discussing practical implications for targeted interventions aimed at reducing occupational stereotyping in children.

The use of distance learning technologies in the process of teaching the discipline "History of Physical Culture" to students majoring in 017 Physical Culture and Sports: the challenges of time

The article describes the use of distance learning technologies in the teaching of the discipline «History of Physical Culture» to students majoring in 017 Physical Culture and Sports: the challenges of time. The use of information and communication technologies in modern higher education has a number of advantages, the main of which are increasing the level of access to education and giving students the opportunity to access the hosted educational and methodological complex of the discipline.&#x0D; The coronavirus pandemic has forced higher education institutions to adapt to a rapidly changing situation that was unimaginable a few months ago. The task of distance learning is to provide citizens with the opportunity to exercise the constitutional right to education and professional qualifications, training regardless of gender, race, nationality, social and property status, gender and nature of occupation, worldview, party affiliation, religion, religion, state of health, place of residence according to their abilities.&#x0D; With the help of the educational information portal, the teacher independently develops electronic courses and conducts training, sends messages to students, distributes, collects and checks tasks, maintains electronic journals, which significantly increases the efficiency of studying the discipline. The creation of an electronic course «History of Physical Culture» allows you to meet the challenges of time, increase and improve the effectiveness of learning and promote the development of creative abilities of students.

Exploring the relationship between risk factors to occupational injuries and gender among artisanal gold miners in Kakamega, Kenya

Exploring the relationship between risk factors to occupational injuries and gender among artisanal gold miners in Kakamega, Kenya

Expressões de gênero no processo de cuidado e prevenção da COVID-19 durante a pandemia: reflexões da e para a terapia ocupacional social

Abstract This article discusses the expressions of gender in the care and prevention process of COVID-19 and seeks to explain the manifestations of sexism in issues related to the changes in daily life caused by the pandemic, in addition to reflecting on the possibilities of actions of occupational therapy in this context. The investigation presented in this article unfolded from a broader project, entitled: “Inequalities and vulnerabilities in the COVID-19 epidemic: monitoring, analysis, and recommendations”, carried out between May and November 2020, whose general objective was to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in more vulnerable neighborhoods of the municipalities where the study was carried out. The methodology was based on the use of material produced in the field research process; this is a qualitative study that focused on the information obtained through conversation circles, interviews, application of questionnaires, the production of reports and field diaries, and the articulation of this material with theoretical references that favor social occupational therapy and gender studies. Among the results, it’s possible to highlight the different ways in which men and women comprehended the period and established their ways of life in the pandemic, in addition to the different attitudes and behaviors towards the care necessary to prevent COVID-19. The critique of hegemonic masculinity allows for an accumulation of knowledge that favors the development of interventional processes, such as the carrying out of activity workshops and conversation circles that aim to soften the reflexes of this thought on society.

Gender differences in professional career under occupational gender segregation

Gender differences in professional career under occupational gender segregation

Why do some occupations offer more part-time work than others? Reciprocal dynamics in occupational gender segregation and occupational part-time work in West Germany, 1976–2010

This paper analyzes the reciprocal relationship between occupational gender segregation and occupational part-time work in West Germany over time. Based on a unique occupational panel dataset covering 254 occupations between 1976 and 2010, we apply static, dynamic, and Arellano-Bond panel models to account for reverse causality and endogeneity. Results indicate that trends in occupational part-time rates and gender ratios mutually reinforce each other but not in the same manner. Part-time work in occupations increases once more women start working in these occupations. Occupational part-time ratios are mainly driven by married women and mothers; women's education level only plays a minor role. Vice versa, the gender composition of occupations is likewise affected by changing working-time arrangements, at least in the short run, but it is mainly driven by previous levels of occupational gender segregation.

Prevalence and risk of chronic diseases in medical personnel of mobile ambulance teams

Introduction: Medical workers of mobile ambulance teams (MATs) are at a high risk of exposure to harmful working conditions, leading to the development of chronic diseases (CDs).&#x0D; Aim: To study the prevalence and risks of the development of CDs according to the results of a sociological survey among medical workers of MATs.&#x0D; Materials and methods: The method used for the sociological research was based on a specially designed questionnaire using Google Forms electronic service. The survey was participated by 176 medical workers. The average age of the respondents was 40.58 14.01 years, of which 143 were women and 33 were men.&#x0D; Results: Of the majority of the respondents (63.6%), 51.5% were 1825 years old with working period 5 years, who had CDs; 89.5% were 5160 years old, and 100% were 61 years old. The most common forms of CDs were diseases of the musculoskeletal system, digestive organs, respiratory organs, urogenital system, and circulatory system, and the prevalence ranged from 25.6 to 15.3 per 100 respondents. In the total cohort, 74.8% had chronic morbidity. The medical personnel of general ambulance teams had significantly higher relative risk (RR) of CDs (2.449 [95% confidence interval, CI 1.7013.525]) than those of specialized ambulance teams. Gender and occupational differences in the development of musculoskeletal pathologies were found, with higher RRs among women (RR 4.510 [95% CI 1.15517.610]) and medical personnel of MATs (RR 1.874 [95% CI 1.0413.374]).&#x0D; Conclusions: The prevalence of certain CDs among medical workers of MATs depends on the duration of contact with occupational factors, gender, and age of the workers.

Gender differences and similarities in work preferences: Results from a factorial survey experiment

Despite increased gender equality in many arenas in most of the Western world, women and men continue to choose different educational paths; this is one reason for the persistent gender segregation in the labour market. Cultural and economic explanations for occupational gender segregation both contend that gendered career choices reflect gendered preferences. By analysing data from a multifactorial survey experiment conducted in Norway, designed to isolate the preferences for occupations from preferences for job attributes with which occupation is often correlated: pay; type of position; and amount of work, this article examines whether and to what extent boys and girls who have not yet entered the labour market have different preferences for different work dimensions. The study shows some gender differences in occupational preferences, while also demonstrating similarities in boys’ and girls’ preferences for work dimensions, such as pay and working hours. This indicates that attributes tested by the experiment, which are typically associated with gendered occupations, cannot independently explain why boys and girls tend to have divergent occupational preferences. Importantly, however, the results suggest that boys’ reluctance to undertake some female-typed occupations might be reduced if they did not pay less than male-typed occupations requiring the same level of education.

Examination of human interaction on indoor environmental quality variables: A case study of libraries at the University of Alberta

It is well-known that indoor environmental quality (IEQ) can be affected by the occupants and their activities in indoor environments. What is essential to be investigated is the impact of occupant gender on indoor environmental variables. In this report, a field study was conducted over the span of three months to measure the various components of IEQ – including thermal, acoustic, air quality, and lighting – within the Cameron Library for Sciences, Engineering, and Business and the Rutherford Humanities & Social Sciences Library at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impacts of occupant gender ratios on the IEQ. The selected spaces had varying noise level restrictions to facilitate occupant activities within the library spaces. Through the field study, it was found that occupant gender distribution had an impact on the IEQ of the selected spaces. In addition, in this paper, a novel support vector machine (SVM) model was proposed to predict the impact of the female to male ratio on IEQ. The IEQ variables are highly nonlinear and hard to be classified by conventional methods. Hence, in this paper, a locally weighted SVM was proposed in which the classification is focused on the neighborhood and region around the new sample. This way, the classification model could achieve higher accuracy. This work provides further insight into the development of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) feedback control systems to optimize both IEQ and the energy consumption of indoor spaces.

Occupational Gender Stereotypes for Different Sectors: A Research about Explicit and Implicit Measurement Methods

İşgücünün meslekler arasında cinsiyet açısından eşitsiz bir dağılıma sahip olması, mesleklere ilişkin toplumsal cinsiyet kalıp yargılarına dair tartışmaları gündeme getirmiş ve bu konu akademik alanda giderek daha sık biçimde tartışılmaya başlanmıştır. Bu kapsamda bu araştırma ile ülkemizde belli mesleklere ilişkin toplumsal cinsiyet algısı var mıdır?, “Bu algı sektörden sektöre farklılaşır mı?” ve “Toplumsal cinsiyet algısının ölçümü, ölçüm yöntemine duyarlı mıdır?” sorularına cevap aranmıştır. Çalışmada nicel yöntemden faydalanılmıştır. Katılımcıların sekiz farklı mesleğe ilişkin toplumsal cinsiyet algılarının ölçümlenmesinde hem doğrudan ölçüm hem de dolaylı ölçüm(senaryo) tekniğine başvurulmuş ve 1020 katılımcıdan anket aracılığıyla veri toplanmıştır. Hipotezler bağımsız örneklem t-testi ve ki-kare analiziyle test edilmiştir. Sonuçlar, katılımcıların mesleklere yönelik güçlü bir cinsiyetçi bakış açısına sahip olduklarını ve toplumsal cinsiyetçi algılamalarda ölçüm yöntemi ve sektör farklılıklarının önemli bir etken olduğunu yansıtmaktadır. Mesleklere ilişkin toplumsal cinsiyet algılarının farklı sektörlerde ve farklı ölçüm yöntemleriyle incelenmiş olması, bu araştırmanın özgün değerini oluşturmaktadır.

Negotiating Masculinity in a Post-Socialist Society: The Case of Chinese Male Nurses

Occupational gender inequalities are an important sociological concern. Studies on men in female-dominated occupations, such as nursing, have offered rich insights to advance our understanding of gender dynamics in contemporary society. However, current theoretical and empirical accounts have been mostly dominated by Westernized discussions. Utilizing insights from critical studies on men and masculinities, alongside Chinese masculinities studies, this article seeks to enrich the discourse by examining the working experiences of 12 Chinese male nurses in a city hospital. It identifies a culturally specific stigma faced by filial Chinese men. It unravels the masculinity strategies and gender capital, and their effects, used by Chinese male nurses to defend their ability and contributions. It reveals the difficulties and paradoxes arising when men negotiate new hegemonic masculine ideals in post-socialist China. This article provides a nuanced understanding of non-Western masculinities and insights into practices that have been used to sustain male dominance in female-dominated and emotionally demanding jobs.

The Combined Impact of Workplace and Occupational Gender Composition on Workers’ Mental Health and Employment Consequences

ABSTRACT We examine whether the gender composition of one’s workplace influences mental health and employment consequences and whether these associations vary for men and women. We test the impact of perceived gender dissimilarity and the aggregate averaged gender composition of the respondent’s occupation. Our study is situated in the mid 2000’s, when women’s labor market participation was comparable to men’s. We use nationally-representative individual-level data from the American Work Stress and Health Survey matched to occupation-level data. We find perceived gender-dissimilarity is associated with worse mental health and employment consequences in feminized occupations. Respondents’ gender partially impacts these associations.

Changes in Vegetable Consumption in Times of COVID-19-First Findings From an International Civil Science Project.

The crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced food security and nutrition through both direct and indirect pathways. This ranged from short-term to long-term impacts, not only on health but also on food systems and thus on nutrition. This study aimed to identify how the observed constraints affected the food intake of populations across the globe. Here, special attention was paid to the consumption of vegetables and legumes and the diversity within these food groups. An online survey on Food and COVID-19 was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire translated into several languages. Binary logistic regression models and Poisson regression models were calculated to evaluate changes in consumption patterns and to test potential determinants for the changes. For more detailed information on reasons for changes open ended questions were analysed qualitatively. Time spend at home, working from home, and mental stress were important drivers for changes in dietary intake according to the 1,042 respondents included in this analysis. The participants observed a change in food quantity (38%) and vegetable intake (27%). No changes were observed for the number of vegetable groups consumed, while significant reductions in diversity were detected within all vegetable groups. Moreover, associations between the number of consumed vegetable types during the COVID-19 pandemic and income regions as well as gender were found. The regression analysis showed that the level of decrease in vegetable diversity in the different vegetable groups were often depending on educational and occupational status, gender and household environment. Changes in food prices were related to changes in vegetable intake per se, overall vegetable diversity, and diversity within the provitamin A rich vegetable group. Food systems are not static and are transitioning quickly as could be observed during the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a need for a nutrition strategy to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable households to consume a diverse diet in adequate amount even in times of a pandemic.