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The Evolution of Occupational Gender Segregation in Australia: Measurement and Interpretation

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  • Martin Watts

    (University of Newcastle)

Abstract

In this paper, we build on earlier work (Watts and Rich, 1991, 1992a) and examine the conceptual and measurement issues associated with documenting trends in occupational segregation in Australia over the period 1986-2002. Some specific issues will be addressed, including: Is the rate of gender integration still pro-cyclical? Has gender stereotyping diminished in the atypical occupations? Have women crowded into occupations that were previously male dominated, so that resegregation has occurred? What has been the impact on gender segregation of the continued growth of part-time employment? What role can legislation play in promoting occupational gender integration?

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Watts, 2003. "The Evolution of Occupational Gender Segregation in Australia: Measurement and Interpretation," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 6(4), pages 631-655, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:6:y:2003:i:4:p:631-655
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Grusky & Maria Charles, 1998. "The past, present, and future of sex segregation methodoloqy," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(4), pages 497-504, November.
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    3. Robert M. Blackburn & Janet Siltanen & Jennifer Jarman, 1995. "The Measurement of Occupational Gender Segregation: Current Problems and a New Approach," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 158(2), pages 319-331, March.
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    6. Horrell, Sara & Rubery, Jill, 1991. "Gender and Working Time: An Analysis of Employers' Working-Time Policies," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 15(4), pages 373-391, December.
    7. Martin Watts, 1992. "How Should Occupational Sex Segregation be Measured?," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 6(3), pages 475-487, September.
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    9. Donald E. Lewis, 1985. "The Sources of Changes in the Occupational Segregation of Australian Women," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 61(4), pages 719-736, December.
    10. Rumberger, Russell W & Carnoy, Martin, 1980. "Segmentation in the US Labour Market: Its effects on the Mobility and Earnings of Whites and Blacks," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 4(2), pages 117-132, June.
    11. Martin J. Watts, 1994. "A Critique of Marginal Matching," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 8(3), pages 421-431, September.
    12. Martin Watts, 1998. "Occupational gender segregation: Index measureiient and econometric modeling," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(4), pages 489-496, November.
    13. Martin Watts, 1998. "The analysis of sex segregation: When is index measurement not index measurement," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(4), pages 505-508, November.
    14. Watts, Martin J & Rich, Judith, 1992. "Labour Market Segmentation and the Persistence of Occupational Sex Segregation in Australia," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(58), pages 58-76, June.
    15. Francine D. Blau & Wallace E. Hendricks, 1979. "Occupational Segregation by Sex: Trends and Prospects," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 14(2), pages 197-210.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Somayeh Parvazian & Judith Gill & Belinda Chiera, 2017. "Higher Education, Women, and Sociocultural Change: A Closer Look at the Statistics," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(2), pages 21582440177, May.
    2. Alison Preston & John Burgess, 2003. "Women’s Work in Australia: Trends, Issues and Prospects," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 6(4), pages 497-518, December.
    3. Megan Moskos, 2020. "Why is the gender revolution uneven and stalled? Gender essentialism and men's movement into ‘women's work'," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 527-544, July.
    4. Alison Preston & Gillian Whitehouse, 2004. "Gender Differences in Occupation of Employment within Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 7(3), pages 309-327, September.
    5. Stephan Humpert, 2014. "Occupational Sex Segregation and Working Time: Regional Evidence from Germany," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 61(3), pages 317-329, June.
    6. Martin John Watts, 2009. "The Impact of Spatial Imbalance and Socioeconomic Characteristics on Average Distance Commuted in the Sydney Metropolitan Area," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(2), pages 317-339, February.
    7. Icardi, Rossella, 2021. "Returns to workplace training for male and female employees and implications for the gender wage gap: A quantile regression analysis," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 8(1), pages 21-45.
    8. Wycliffe Obwori Alwago, 2023. "A partial least squares analysis of gender inequality, occupational segregation, and economic growth: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(6), pages 1299-1316, August.
    9. Martin Watts, 2014. "Spatial indexes: a focus on segregation," Chapters, in: Robert Stimson (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Spatially Integrated Social Science, chapter 15, pages 287-314, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Gerard Lind & Rebecca Colquhoun, 2021. "Analysis of gender segregation within detailed occupations and industries in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 24(1), pages 47-69.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor Force and Employment; Size; and Structure (by industry; occupation; demographic characteristics; etc.); Professional Labor Markets and Occupations; Economics of Gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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