Gender Divergence in Sectors of Work

Titan Alon, Sena Coskun and Jane Olmstead-Rumsey
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Titan Alon: University of California San Diego
Sena Coskun: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany
Jane Olmstead-Rumsey: London School of Economics

No 202511, IAB-Discussion Paper from Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]

Abstract: "The past half century has witnessed widespread gender convergence across many labor market outcomes, including hours worked, earnings, and occupations. However, this paper shows that, over the same period, men’s and women’s sectors of employment actually diverged. We decompose the rise in sectoral segregation into three drivers representing changes in preferences, discrimination, and technologies. Changes in the employment preferences of married women are the most important factor, explaining 59% of the rise in segregation. These changes in preferences also reduce the gender earnings gap because the non-wage amenities women value are increasingly prevalent in higher paying sectors." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Keywords: USA; IAB-Open-Access-Publikation; Auswirkungen; Beruf und Familie; Berufsstruktur; Diskriminierung; erwerbstätige Frauen; erwerbstätige Männer; geschlechtsspezifische Faktoren; geschlechtsspezifischer Arbeitsmarkt; historische Entwicklung; Lohnunterschied; Mütter; Präferenz; Segregation; sektorale Verteilung; Wirtschaftsstrukturwandel; 1975-2019 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E20 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2025-08-07
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https://doi.org/10.48720/IAB.DP.2511

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iab:iabdpa:202511

DOI: 10.48720/IAB.DP.2511

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