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The Evolution of Occupational Segregation in the United States, 1940–2010: Gains and Losses of Gender–Race/Ethnicity Groups

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  • Coral Río
  • Olga Alonso-Villar

Abstract

The aim of this article is twofold: (1) to descriptively explore the evolution of occupational segregation of women and men of different racial/ethnic groups in the United States during 1940–2010, and (2) to assess the consequences of segregation for each group. For that purpose, in this article, we propose a simple index that measures the monetary loss or gain of a group derived from its overrepresentation in some occupations and underrepresentation in others. This index has a clear economic interpretation. It represents the per capita advantage (if the index is positive) or disadvantage (if the index is negative) of the group, derived from its segregation, as a proportion of the average wage of the economy. Our index is a helpful tool not only for academics but also for institutions concerned with inequalities among demographic groups because it makes it possible to rank them according to their segregational nature. Copyright Population Association of America 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Coral Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2015. "The Evolution of Occupational Segregation in the United States, 1940–2010: Gains and Losses of Gender–Race/Ethnicity Groups," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 967-988, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:52:y:2015:i:3:p:967-988
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-015-0390-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Herve Queneau, 2009. "Trends in occupational segregation by race and ethnicity in the USA: evidence from detailed data," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(13), pages 1347-1350.
    2. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Rio, 2013. "The occupational segregation of Black women in the United States: A look at its evolution from 1940 to 2010," Working Papers 304, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    3. Frankel, David M. & Volij, Oscar, 2011. "Measuring school segregation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 1-38, January.
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    5. Carlos Gradín, 2013. "Conditional occupational segregation of minorities in the US," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 11(4), pages 473-493, December.
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    7. O. Alonso-Villar & C. Grad󸀍 & C. del R􈀍, 2013. "Occupational segregation of Hispanics in US metropolitan areas," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(30), pages 4298-4307, October.
    8. Jacques Silber, 1992. "Occupational Segregation Indices in the Multidimensional Case: A Note," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 68(3), pages 276-277, September.
    9. Suzanne Bianchi & Nancy Rytina, 1986. "The decline in occupational sex segregation during the 19705: census and cps comparisons," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 23(1), pages 79-86, February.
    10. Carlos Grad�n & Coral Del R�o & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2015. "Occupational Segregation by Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Differences Across States," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(10), pages 1621-1638, October.
    11. Spriggs, William E & Williams, Rhonda M, 1996. "A Logit Decomposition Analysis of Occupational Segregation: Results for the 1970s and 1980s," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(2), pages 348-355, May.
    12. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral Del Rio & Carlos Gradin, 2012. "The Extent of Occupational Segregation in the United States: Differences by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 179-212, April.
    13. Alonso-Villar, Olga & del Río, Coral, 2010. "Local versus overall segregation measures," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 30-38, July.
    14. Fidan Ana Kurtulus, 2012. "Affirmative Action and the Occupational Advancement of Minorities and Women During 1973–2003," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 213-246, April.
    15. Francine Blau & Peter Brummund & Albert Liu, 2013. "Trends in Occupational Segregation by Gender 1970–2009: Adjusting for the Impact of Changes in the Occupational Coding System," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(2), pages 471-492, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Río, 2024. "Gender, Race, and Class in an Intersectional Framework: Occupations and Wages in the United States," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 40-69, January.
    2. Carlos Gradín, 2017. "Segregation of women into low-paying occupations in the United States," WIDER Working Paper Series 089, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Amairisa Koukia & Robert M. Sauer, 2022. "Remote Work, Children’s Health and the Racial Gap in Female Wages," CHILD Working Papers Series 104 JEL Classification: C, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    4. Kouki, Amairisa & Sauer, Robert M., 2022. "Remote Work, Children's Health and the Racial Gap in Female Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 15072, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Anne R Pebley & Noreen Goldman & Theresa Andrasfay & Boriana Pratt, 2021. "Trajectories of physical functioning among older adults in the US by race, ethnicity and nativity: Examining the role of working conditions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral Río, 2023. "Disentangling Occupational Sorting from Within-Occupation Disparities: Earnings Differences Among 12 Gender–Race/Ethnicity Groups in the U.S," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(3), pages 1-28, June.
    7. Muhammad Zaheer Khan & Rusmawati Said & Nur Syazwani Mazlan & Norashidah Mohamed Nor, 2023. "Measuring the occupational segregation of males and females in Pakistan in a multigroup context," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    8. Marigee Bacolod & Marcos A. Rangel, 2017. "Economic Assimilation and Skill Acquisition: Evidence From the Occupational Sorting of Childhood Immigrants," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(2), pages 571-602, April.
    9. Daniel Aaronson & Brian J. Phelan, 2020. "The Evolution of Technological Substitution in Low-Wage Labor Markets," Working Paper Series WP-2020-16, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, revised 01 Mar 2022.
    10. Coral del Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2016. "Occupational Achievements by Sexual Orientation in the U.S.: Are There Differences Among Races?," Working Papers 1604, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Economía Aplicada.

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