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Sexually Integrated Workplaces and Divorce: Another Form of On-the-Job Search

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  • Terra G. McKinnish

Abstract

As women have entered the work force and occupational sex segregation has declined, workers experience increased contact with the opposite sex on the job. The sex mix a worker encounters on the job should affect the cost of search for alternative mates and therefore the probability of divorce. This paper uses 1990 Census data to calculate the sex mix by industry-occupation cell. These results are then used to predict divorce among ever-married respondents in the 1990 Census and the NLSY79. The results indicate that those who work with a larger fraction of workers of the opposite sex are more likely to be divorced.

Suggested Citation

  • Terra G. McKinnish, 2007. "Sexually Integrated Workplaces and Divorce: Another Form of On-the-Job Search," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:42:y:2007:i2:p331-352
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lerman, Robert I, 1989. "Employment Opportunities of Young Men and Family Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 62-66, May.
    2. Macpherson, David A & Hirsch, Barry T, 1995. "Wages and Gender Composition: Why Do Women's Jobs Pay Less?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(3), pages 426-471, July.
    3. Olsen, Randall J & Farkas, George, 1990. "The Effect of Economic Opportunity and Family Background on Adolescent Cohabitation and Childbearing among Low-Income Blacks," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(3), pages 341-362, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Elizabeth Brainerd & Olga Malkova, 2023. "Maternity benefits and marital stability after birth: evidence from the Soviet Baltic republics," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 2309-2345, October.
    2. Alena Bicakova & Stepan Jurajda, 2014. "The Quiet Revolution and the Family: Gender Composition of Tertiary Education and Early Fertility Patterns," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp504, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    3. Bicakova, Alena & Jurajda, Štepán, 2016. "Field-of-Study Homogamy," IZA Discussion Papers 9844, IZA Network @ LISER.
    4. Lehrer, Evelyn L. & Son, Yeon Jeong, 2017. "Marital Instability in the United States: Trends, Driving Forces, and Implications for Children," IZA Discussion Papers 10503, IZA Network @ LISER.
    5. Frimmel, Wolfgang & Halla, Martin & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf, 2024. "How does parental divorce affect children’s long-term outcomes?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    6. Hani Mansour & Terra McKinnish, 2018. "Same-occupation spouses: preferences or search costs?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(4), pages 1005-1033, October.
    7. Kuroki, Masanori, 2013. "Opposite-sex coworkers and marital infidelity," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 71-73.
    8. Peter Fallesen & Richard Breen, 2016. "Temporary Life Changes and the Timing of Divorce," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(5), pages 1377-1398, October.
    9. Andriana Bellou, 2017. "Male wage inequality and marital dissolution: Is there a link?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 50(1), pages 40-71, February.
    10. Ian Smith, 2012. "Reinterpreting the economics of extramarital affairs," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 319-343, September.
    11. Lorenzo Todesco, 2012. "Does Female Employment Always Undermine Marriage? Working Wives and Family Stability in Different Contexts of Italian Society," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 17(3), pages 53-72, August.
    12. Sheena Murray, 2020. "How broadband and cell phone access have impacted marriage and divorce in the US," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 431-459, June.
    13. Alena Bičáková & Štěpán Jurajda, 2017. "Gender composition of college graduates by field of study and early fertility," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1323-1343, December.
    14. Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, 2011. "Does Community Context Have an Important Impact on Divorce Risk? A Fixed-Effects Study of Twenty Norwegian First-Marriage Cohorts [Le contexte communautaire a-t-il un impact important sur le risque de divorcer? Etude de vingt cohortes norvégiennes," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 57-77, February.
    15. John Douglas Skåtun, 2017. "Bargaining on your Spouse: Coasean and Non-Coasean Behaviour Within Marriage," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 263-278, June.
    16. Nico Pestel, 2021. "Searching on campus? The marriage market effects of changing student sex ratios," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1175-1207, December.
    17. Mansour, Hani & McKinnish, Terra, 2014. "Same-Occupation Spouses: Preferences and Search Costs," IZA Discussion Papers 8370, IZA Network @ LISER.
    18. Henry R. Hyatt, 2015. "Co-Working Couples and the Similar Jobs of Dual-Earner Households," Working Papers 15-23, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    19. Henry R. Hyatt, 2015. "Co-Working Couples and the Similar Jobs of Dual-Earner Households," Working Papers 15-23r, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    20. Terra G. Mckinnish, 2004. "Occupation, Sex-Integration, and Divorce," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 322-325, May.
    21. Zhou, Xiangyi & Zhang, Jie & Song, Xuetao, 2013. "Gender Discrimination in Hiring: Evidence from 19,130 Resumes in China," MPRA Paper 43543, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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