Equality for Blacks and Women: an Essay on Relative Progress (original) (raw)
Related papers
2006
Abstract While the existence of occupational gender segregation is well known, it has been usual to see it as a reflection of women's disadvantage. However, cross-national data show that the greater the segregation, the less tends to be women's disadvantage. The solution to this puzzle entails the introduction of the two orthogonal dimensions of segregation, where only the vertical dimension measures inequality while the horizontal dimension measures difference without inequality.
Professions from a Gendered Perspective
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management
Professions or professional occupations have been studied through a large number of empirical and theoretical lenses over the last decades: as potential substitutes for organizations and markets, as protected labor markets, and as the site of the subjective experiences and socialization processes of their members. Combining a sociological and a gender perspective, a growing number of studies have shed new light on the growth and dynamics of professional occupations since the mid-20th century. They show how the massive entry of women into the upper reaches of Western labor markets has played a major role in the expansion and reconfiguration of the professions. However, by studying the barriers to women’s access to once exclusively masculine environments, scholars tend to show that the feminization processes coexist with persistent inequalities in income, promotion opportunities, career patterns, and access to leadership positions, popularized by the metaphor of the “glass ceiling” ef...
Re-Gendering Of The Workforce: Women And Men In “Non-Traditional” Occupations And Industries
Labour, Employment and Work in New Zealand, 2015
Many occupations and industries have traditionally remained the preserve of either men or women. In recent years, a range of campaigns and policies have focussed on equity for women and equality of opportunity for both men and women in the work force. This paper looks at some of the background, ongoing discrimination and the forces acting for and against gender balance which has brought about some re-gendering of occupations.
2014
Men are 90%+ of glass and ceramics processors, metal making, electroplaters, paper and wood machine operatives, coal miners, quarry workers, energy plant operatives, metal working machine operatives, water and sewerage plant operatives, tyre, exhaust and windscreen fitters, scaffolders, road construction operatives, rail construction ops, construction ops not elsewhere classified, heavy good vehicle drivers, van drivers, bus and coach drivers, taxi drivers, rail transport ops, seafarers, air transport ops, transport operatives not elsewhere classified (n.e.c.), crane drivers, fork lift truck drivers, agricultural machinery drivers. ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS This occupational group is gender balanced overall (SOC 1 level) but of the 35 elementary occupations listed at SOC 4 digits, only 7 show gender balance. These jobs are; packers and bottlers, elementary office workers not elsewhere classified (n.e.c), elementary personal service occupations n.e.c., shelf fillers, bar staff, traffic wardens, and elementary sales occupations n.e.c. Men are 90% of mobile machine drivers, forestry workers, labourers building and woodworking trades, stevadores, other goods handling and storage occupations, hospital porters, hotel porters, road sweepers, refuse and salvage workers, window cleaners, Women are 90%+ school crossing patrol attendants, school mid day assistants. Men are 80-90% of car park attendants, postal workers, security guards, fishing and agricultural labourers, industrial cleaning process operatives, labourers process and plant. Women are 80-90% of cleaners and domestics, dry cleaners. Men are 70-80% of printing machine minders, farm workers, leisure and theme park attendants. Women are 70-80% of all kitchen and catering assistants, waiting staff.
Although a consistent body of research has demonstrated that occupational segregation is highly consequential for women’s economic standing, we know little about the processes that contribute to changes in levels of sex segregation. In this study, we examine those factors that contribute to changes in the percent of women in detailed occupational categories in the United States. Since we are most concerned with the economic consequences of this type of segregation, we analyze a group of high-paying, male-dominated occupations that, if better integrated, would contribute most to earnings equality. We find that occupation to which relatively high percentages of women aspired and occupations that are growing have been experiencing above-average increases in the percentage of women, while occupations characterized by male-stereotyped task profiles have been witnessing below average increases. Additionally, our results suggest the presence of a ceiling effect: it is easier for women to break into male-dominated occupations initially than to sustain growth. Our analysis suggests that both supply and demand-side explanations provide insight into the processes contributing to increases in the occupations that we examine, although it can be very difficult to distinguish between supply and demand-side elements; indeed they may occur simultaneously.
Education: Barrier or Boon to Changing Occupational Roles of Women?
Journal of Social Issues, 1976
Traditional educational institutions have contributed to occupational stratification by sex, but they have the potential to play a primary role in the sexual integration of the occupational world. Research on the ontogeny of the occupational aspirations of young women is reviewed, and three major sex-biased educational practices which may be contributing to the restriction of these aspirations are discussed: textbooks and instructional materials, differential curricula for males and females, and vocational counseling and testing. Recent legislation is evaluated for its usefulness in modifying each of these sex biases. A conceptual framework is suggested for designing policy relevant research which is aimed at maximizing women's occupational potential.
Women's Work, Men's Work: Sex Segregation on the Job
Contemporary Sociology, 1986
The literature on sex segregation in the workplace was reviewed to determine how it could be used in formulating policy in the area of sex fairness in the American labor market. The committee found that although women's occupational options have increased dramatically in the past decade, sex segregation is still widespread. Among those factors that appeared responsible for sex segregation in the workplace were the following: cultural beliefs; barriers to employment such as discrimination, socialization, and unequal education and training opportunities; family responsibilities; and the opportunity structure. Analysis of the existing laws and programs geared toward intervening in the workplace, in job training, and in education revealed that what is needed is not new legislation but rather more committed leadership, stricter enforcement, and enhancement of voluntary compliance with existing laws. In addition, enforcement agencies must develop much stronger programs of policy-relevant research on such issues as the sources of change in occupations in which the most dramatic improvements in sex-fair opportunities have occurred and the relative effectiveness of measures to improve enforcement and voluntary compliance. (This report includes 15 tables and the table of contents from a comparison report, "Sex Segregation in the Workplace.")
What types of occupations are women entering?
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 2008
Although a consistent body of research has demonstrated that occupational segregation is highly consequential for women's economic standing, we know little about the processes that contribute to changes in levels of sex segregation. In this study, we examine those factors that contribute to changes in the percent of women in detailed occupational categories in the United States. Since we are most concerned with the economic consequences of this type of segregation, we analyze a group of high-paying, male-dominated occupations that, if better integrated, would contribute most to earnings equality. We find that occupations to which relatively high percentages of women aspired and occupations that are growing have been experiencing above-average increases in the percentage of women, while occupations characterized by male-stereotyped task profiles have been witnessing below-average increases. Additionally, our results suggest the presence of a ceiling effect: it is easier for women to break into male-dominated occupations initially than to sustain growth. Our analysis suggests that both supply and demand-side explanations provide insight into the processes contributing to increases in the occupations that we examine, although it can be very difficult to distinguish between supply and demand-side elements; indeed they may occur simultaneously.
Is There a Supply Side to Occupational Sex Segregation?
Sociological Perspectives, 1999
W e examine evidencefor supply-side explanations of occupational sex segregation, using the 1979-93 NLSY. Supply-side explanations, such as those derivedfrom neoclassical economic theoy and gender socialization, look to individual characteristics of workers, such as values, aspirations, and roles, to explain occupational outcomes. Contra y to human capital theory, we find no tendency for individuals with early plans for employment intermittency or more actual breaks in employment to work in predominantly female occupations. This suggests that women who anticipate breaks in employment do not choose female occupations because of lower wage penalties for time out of the labor force. A second neoclassical view, from the theo y of compensating differentials, posits that women sacrifice some pay for "mother-friendly" features ofjobs. Consistent with this, white and Latina mothers are in more female jobs than are nonmothers, but the opposite is true for African-American women. The gender socialization perspective posits a long-term effect of gendered attitudes and aspirations formed in youth. Consistent with this, wefind that those aspiring to or expecting to work in predominantly female jobs are in more heavily female jobs fourteen years later. Also, for women (but not men), more liberal gender role attitudes predicts working in a more sex-typical occupation. For men (but not women), having had either afather or mother who worked in a female occupation predicts working in a more heavily female occupation.
Gender Occupational segregation - how and why
This essay aims to assess the evidence for, and reasons why, occupations remain highly segregated by gender. In order to do so, I will firstly put attention to the Equal Opportunity Commission report from 2005 to highlight how occupations are shown to be segregated by gender in Great Britain. Secondly, I will look at different explanations and reasons for why this is, with a distinction between more individualistic-oriented approaches and more social-oriented ones. In the individualistic approach, my focus will lie on the research carried out by Linda Gottfredson and Catherine Hakim. Within the social approach, I will bring up various scholars and focus on three main factors: formal education, structure of the labour market and economic development. Finally, I will give my own opinion on why I think the individual approach lack in its attempt to fully explain gender occupational segregation by look into and elaborate on the sharp critique that has been made against Hakim's work.