Analyzing changes in occupational segregation: the case of switzerland (1970–2000)

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.