The Pros and Cons of Occupational Gender Segregation in Europe

This paper reviews European policy toward occupational segregation and the gender earnings gap in the light of some basic stylized facts. Using three sources of comparable data for European countries it shows that (i) segregation associates positively with female employment; (ii) redistribution of female employment between occupations toward the male pattern has low and contradictory effect on the gender gap whereas within-occupation redistribution up the hierarchical ladder has some significant impact; and (iii) dispersion of earnings associates negatively with the gender gap. It is argued that these facts may imply trade-offs when desegregation, closing of the gender gap and higher female employment are simultaneously pursued.