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Occupational segregation and women's job satisfaction

Author

Listed:
  • Alfred Michael Dockery

    (Curtin University)

  • Sandra Buchler

    (Goethe university)

Abstract

Data on men and women’s job satisfaction conditional upon the degree of feminisation of their occupation are used to explore potential causes and implications 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, older women and wives and the results also offer strong support for the view that occupational segregation is generated by societal norms around the 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 societal norms in which the work of married women and of mothers is seen as secondary to that of their male partner’s. In contrast to suggestions in some of the existing Australian literature, the results also clearly indicate that more highly feminised occupations are relatively poorly paid, other things held equal.

Suggested Citation

  • Alfred Michael Dockery & Sandra Buchler, 2015. "Occupational segregation and women's job satisfaction," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1510, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
  • Handle: RePEc:ozl:bcecwp:wp1510
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
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    Cited by:

    1. Philip Taylor & Catherine Earl & Christopher McLoughlin, 2016. "Contractual Arrangements and the Retirement Intentions of Women in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 19(3), pages 175-195.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Occupational segregation; gender; job satisfaction; discrimination; occupational choice;
    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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