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Gender-specific segregation of occupations has remained a typical characteristic of contemporary labour markets. From an individual perspective, (gender-)specific positioning in the labour market is the result of longer-term developments over the life course; these may be influenced by specific macro-level conditions. For example, education and training systems may differ in the information they provide for individual educational and occupational decisions and in the biographical consequences of these decisions. This chapter analyses the potential relevance of education and training systems for gender-specific occupational expectations at a comparatively young age. The empirical analyses use data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000, 2003 and 2006 and from the European Labour Force Survey (ELFS), comparing occupational gender segregation in early individual expectations and in the labour force across 22 European countries. In a multi-level analysis, expectations are related to both individual-level predictors and characteristics of education and training systems. The results show that anticipated choices of gender-specific occupations are loosely related to characteristics of education and training systems. In particular, the degree of vocational enrolment seems to enforce the level of segregation. However, these associations are group-specific and rather small. Education and training systems also tend to have different consequences for the expectations of young women and young men. Gender segregation already exists at early biographical stages, but it is often modified by later adaptation and the selective behaviour of institutions and employers.

Examines gender and ethnic occupational segregation in Israel, focusing on the interaction between gender and ethnicity. Uses data from the 1983 and 1961 Population and Housing Census, and two different indices to examine three issues: ethnic versus gender segregation; gender differences in ethnic occupational segregation; and ethnicity differences in gender occupational segregation. Finds that gender segregation is much higher than ethnic segregation; that, overall, women are not more ethnically segregated than men, and that there are ethnic differences in the overall gender dissimilarity indices. Focusing on the sex composition effect, finds that there is no difference in gender segregation within various ethnic groups. Suggests that only in the kibbutz are Eastern women more sexually segregated than Western women. Also investigates and presents long‐term trends between 1961 and 1983 and comparisons with the US. Explores the linkage between educational dispersion and occupational dispersion to explain the study findings. Concludes that educational disparities are responsible for differences in ethnic occupational segregation but not in gender occupational segregation. Offers demand‐side explanations.

This paper examines the role of occupational segregation in the evolution of wage differentials by gender and race in the Brazilian labor market between 2005 and 2015.

The author uses microdata from the National Household Sample Survey and adopts two occupational integration typology to capture both horizontal and vertical segregation. The decomposition method proposed by Firpo et al. (2009) is employed to investigate the determinants of changes in differentials along the wage distribution.

Results suggest a glass ceiling effect for all groups compared to white men. Gender and racial discrimination persist, especially at the top of the distribution. For both black women and men, observable characteristics account for most of the wage differentials, while for white women, the opposite occurs because of their education level. Vertical segregation behavior indicates that white men continue over-represented in higher-paid occupations. Although women improved their relative position in the occupational hierarchy, horizontal segregation behavior shows that their concentration in female-dominated occupations has not reduced, except in extreme quantiles. Education played a crucial role in reducing wage gaps, and regional differences stood out as a significant factor of the racial disadvantage.

The paper shows significant differences between the groups regarding verticalization and horizontalization of occupational structure along the wage distribution and over time, contributing to filling some gaps in the literature concerning the wage stratification based on gender and race in Brazil. Occupational segregation as a composition factor of the groups determines their positions in a vertically hierarchical and socially stratified occupational structure. The behavior of horizontal and vertical segregations evidences the continue under-valorization of female occupations and the barriers faced by racial and gendered groups to overcome the glass ceiling effect. Recognize the intersectionality of gender and race in addressing inequalities is fundamental to promote policies that overcome them.

The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in gender inequalities in the Russian labour market between 1994 and 2001, the early period of the transition to the market economy from the old Soviet Union.

The paper examines gender occupational segregation using the dataset from a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Russian households, the Russian Labour Market Survey. The occupational segregation index measure developed by Karmel and Maclachlan, known as the KM Index, is applied and extended by decomposing the index into several components.

The KM Index declined over this period, indicating a reduction in the extent of gender inequality, However, the decomposing of the KM index shows that, in contrast to previous research, the decrease in segregation within individual occupations contributed most of the overall fall in gender segregation. Changes in the overall occupational structure and an increase in female employment contributed, albeit marginally, to an increase in segregation.

Because of the changes which have continued in Russia since 2001, these research results may lack applicability to current emerging economic circumstances in Russia. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further using data for the period 2005 to 2015 once the data become available.

The paper provides rigorous estimates of the trends in gender inequalities at an important period in Russia's economic development and serves as a benchmark for future analysis.

This paper provides new detail on the workings of the Russian labour market during the period of transition and as such provides a base against which changes in gender inequalities since 2001 can be measured.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyze the changes that took place in occupational segregation by gender, nationality, and age in Switzerland during the period 1970–2000.

Methodology – The paper starts by using correspondence analysis to detect changes in occupational segregation by gender and nationality. It then generalizes a decomposition procedure originally proposed by Karmel and McLachlan by combining their approach with what is now known as the Shapley decomposition. Such a generalization offers a clear breakdown of the variation over time in occupational segregation into a component measuring changes in net segregation and another one corresponding to changes in the margins, the latter itself including variations in the occupational structure and in the shares of the subpopulations (e.g., the genders) in the labor force.

Findings – Between 1970 and 2000 there was a slight increase in gross segregation by gender but a decrease in net segregation. The change in gross segregation is because the change in the margins more than compensated that in the internal structure. But even the change in the margins is the consequence of opposite forces since variations in the occupational structure would have per se led to a decrease in gross segregation.

Originality – The results of the empirical illustration based on Swiss data for 1970 and 2000 prove the usefulness of the approach. They stress in particular that in several instances, variations in gross and net segregation worked in opposite directions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the interrelation between two important dimensions of gender segregation: education and occupation. It further investigates the gender wage gap.

The author uses a three-way additive decomposition of the mutual information index – an index based on the concept of entropy. A non-parametric wage decomposition method that uses matching comparisons is used for measuring the wage gap.

The results show that the extent of gender segregation in India is higher in urban areas than that in rural areas. Most of the observed segregation in rural labour markets originates from educational outcomes, whereas in urban markets it is due to occupational profile of individuals. The findings of the wage decomposition analysis suggest that education in rural areas also explains a sizeable part of the gender wage differential. Nevertheless, a large share of the wage gap remains unexplained in both rural and urban areas.

While much research has looked at occupational segregation, less attention has been paid to educational segregation. The paper uses a unique approach to understand the joint effect of occupation and education in explaining gender segregation.

Purpose – The chapter studies gender occupational segregation of rural-urban migrant workers in China based on 2006 survey data from five Chinese cities.

Methodology – The multinomial logit (MNL) model is used to analyze migrant workers' occupational attainment by gender. The Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition method is employed to analyze factors affecting gender occupational segregation, which can be classified into observed factors and unobserved factors, including gender discrimination.

Findings – The index of dissimilarity based on the data shows that gender occupational segregation for migrant workers exists. The result of Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition shows that the unobserved effects account for more than three-fourths of the total gender occupational segregation.

Research limitations – The “index problem” and the assumption of the same occupational preference between men and women of the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition need to be addressed further.

Social implications – The existing gender equality policies and social protection confined to urban workers should be extended to migrant workers. Increasing training investment in migrant workers is also recommended.

This chapter seeks to provide insights into a hitherto neglected topic – that of gender segregation among those who have taken part in vocational education and training (VET). In spite of a growing body of work on the link between educational and occupational segregation by gender, relatively little attention has been given to the specific role played by VET in facilitating gender-specific occupational segregation. Using the European Social Survey (ESS) for 20 European countries and comparable macro data from different European sources, the study examines the extent to which cross-national differences in the gender-typical or atypical occupational allocation of vocational graduates aged 20–34 can be attributed to VET-specific institutional differences.

The findings are consistent with earlier research showing the protective role played by VET in reducing non-employment levels. The findings in relation to the gender-typing of work are somewhat surprising, as they indicate that VET system characteristics make relatively little difference to occupational outcomes among women, whether or not they have a VET qualification. Slightly stronger, but still modest, relationships are found between VET system characteristics and occupational outcomes for men. Male VET graduates are more likely to be in a male-typed job in systems with a higher proportion enrolled on vocational courses. In tracked systems, however, they also tend to be more likely to enter female-typed jobs. In systems where VET prepares people for a wider range of occupations, a VET qualification can act as a protective factor against non-employment, at least for men.

This paper analyzes the evolution of gender segregation in the workplace in Mexico between 1994 and 2004, using a matching comparisons technique to explore the role of individual and family characteristics in determining gender segregation and wage gaps. The results suggest that the complete elimination of vertical segregation would reduce the observed gender wage gaps by 5 percentage points, while the elimination of occupational segregation would have increased gender wage gaps by approximately 6 percentage points. The results also indicate that the role of occupational segregation in wage gaps has been increasing in magnitude during the period of analysis, while the role of vertical segregation on the determination of wage gaps has been decreasing.

The purpose of this paper is to test whether the gender wage gap at the beginning of the working life in France varies with the gender composition of occupations (male-dominated, female-dominated or mixed) and its main determinant (educational pre-sorting or labour market sorting).

The first stage of the methodology is to decompose segregation indexes at occupation level into the two components of determination noted above. The occupations are then divided into five groups on the basis of their gender composition and the weight of the educational segregation. Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions are then applied to each group.

Among 54 strongly gendered occupations, the segregation in 26 stems mainly from educational pre-sorting. This context is favourable to reduction of the gender wage gap. However, a modest wage differential is not proof of convergence towards equity, as it may conceal the existence of a significant discrimination component, as in male occupations.

The results relate to a cohort of French youth. The earnings-equalizing impact of education-based occupational segregation should be tested in other national contexts.

Public authorities should put in place incentives to encourage women's participation in a greater range of education and training courses and to improve the matching between education and the skill content of jobs.

The originality lies in the suggestion that a strong connection between education and skill requirements helps to narrow the occupational gender wage gap.