WHY CHOOSE WOMEN’S WORK IF IT PAYS LESS? A STRUCTURAL MODEL OF OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE
Worker Well-Being and Public Policy
ISBN: 978-0-76231-026-5, eISBN: 978-1-84950-213-9
Publication date: 20 June 2003
Abstract
It is well-known that the majority of women work in a limited number of occupations characterized by a proportionately high number of female workers. Moreover, workers in these female-dominated (FD) occupations earn less, on average, than workers in traditionally male or integrated occupations (McPherson & Hirsch, 1995). This occupational wage differential is widely accepted as a partial explanation for the pervasive gender wage-differential. However, it is unclear why an individual would enter into a FD occupation if the wages are lower than in nonfemale-dominated (NFD) occupations. It is also unclear if women who choose FD occupations could earn more in occupations that are NFD. Therefore, attributing a portion of the gender wage differential to occupational differences may be incorrect. Indeed, differences in the occupational choices of men and women will only explain the wage differential between genders if females in FD occupations could expect to earn higher wages elsewhere.
Citation
Pitts, M.M. (2003), "WHY CHOOSE WOMEN’S WORK IF IT PAYS LESS? A STRUCTURAL MODEL OF OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE", Polachek, S.W. (Ed.) Worker Well-Being and Public Policy (Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 22), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 415-445. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-9121(03)22013-6
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, Emerald Group Publishing Limited