Maping gendered social closure mechanisms through examination of seven male‐dominated occupations

Using the concept of gendered social closure mechanisms, we aim at identifying the social practices and agents involved in the limited access to what we call men's worlds. To do so, we study the ways that women have to access to seven highly male‐dominated occupations in Spain through the analysis of qualitative data based on in‐depth interviews. We propose an analytical model that integrates the structural approach with the microsociological approach and considers that the social closure mechanisms happen at three levels (structural level, occupational/professional level, and organizational level). We state that the time frame of closure mechanisms (pre‐existing, prior to, or threshold of access) is key to understand the impact of such closure mechanisms. The results enable us to show how the mechanisms are cumulative in character rather than exclusive, and to propose a categorization of occupations according to their closure mechanisms. We conclude that any analysis that aims to understand segregation by sex in each profession or occupation must involve a mapping of the gendered social closure mechanisms, as only through a detailed knowledge of the mechanisms and their specific dynamics can we propose changes in practices and policies addressed to improve women's access to male‐dominated occupations