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Women’s work: myth or reality? Occupational feminisation and women’s job satisfaction in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Sandra Buchler

    (Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main)

  • Alfred M. Dockery

    (Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre)

Abstract

Data on men and women’s job satisfaction conditional upon the degree of feminisation of their occupation are used to explore potential causes of occupational segregation by gender in the Australian labour market. We find some evidence for the notion of ‘women’s work’ – that certain occupations are highly feminised because women prefer the type of work done in those occupations. However, this primarily applies to mothers and the results also support the view that occupational segregation is generated by societal norms around roles allocated to men and women. In particular, patterns in satisfaction with hours of work and with pay in highly feminised occupations are consistent with mothers taking on the role of the ‘secondary breadwinner’. In contrast to suggestions in some of the existing Australian literature, the results also indicate that more highly feminised occupations are relatively poorly paid, other things held equal.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandra Buchler & Alfred M. Dockery, 2023. "Women’s work: myth or reality? Occupational feminisation and women’s job satisfaction in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 26(1), pages 51-83.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:26:y:2023:i:1:p:51-83
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Occupational sex segregation; job satisfaction; identity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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