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The Evolution of Occupational Segregation in the U.S., 1940-2010: The Gains and Losses of Gender-Race/Ethnicity Groups

Author

Listed:
  • Coral del Rio

    (Universidade de Vigo and EQUALITAS)

  • Olga Alonso-Villar

    (Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de CC. Economicas, Departamento de Economia Aplicada)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is twofold: a) To explore the evolution of occupational segregation of women and men of different racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. during the period 1940-2010; and b) to assess the consequences of segregation for each of them. For that purpose, this paper proposes a simple index that measures the monetary loss or gain of a group derived from its overrepresentation in some occupations and underrepresentation in others. This index has a clear economic interpretation. It represents the per capita advantage (if the index is positive) or disadvantage (if the index is negative) of the group, derived from its segregation, as a proportion of the average wage of the economy. Our index seems a helpful tool not only for academics but also for institutions concerned with inequalities related to gender, race, ethnicity, and migration status, among others, since it makes it possible to rank different groups in an economy or a target group across time according to its segregation nature.

Suggested Citation

  • Coral del Rio & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2014. "The Evolution of Occupational Segregation in the U.S., 1940-2010: The Gains and Losses of Gender-Race/Ethnicity Groups," Working Papers 323, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    • Handle: RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2014-323
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Herve Queneau, 2009. "Trends in occupational segregation by race and ethnicity in the USA: evidence from detailed data," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(13), pages 1347-1350.
    2. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Rio, 2013. "The occupational segregation of Black women in the United States: A look at its evolution from 1940 to 2010," Working Papers 304, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    3. Boisso, Dale & Hayes, Kathy & Hirschberg, Joseph & Silber, Jacques, 1994. "Occupational segregation in the multidimensional case : Decomposition and tests of significance," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 161-171, March.
    4. Carlos Gradín, 2013. "Conditional occupational segregation of minorities in the US," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 11(4), pages 473-493, December.
    5. Andrea H. Beller, 1985. "Changes in the Sex Composition of U. S. Occupations, 1960-1981," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 20(2), pages 235-250.
    6. O. Alonso-Villar & C. Grad󸀍 & C. del R􈀍, 2013. "Occupational segregation of Hispanics in US metropolitan areas," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(30), pages 4298-4307, October.
    7. Suzanne Bianchi & Nancy Rytina, 1986. "The decline in occupational sex segregation during the 19705: census and cps comparisons," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 23(1), pages 79-86, February.
    8. Alonso-Villar, Olga & del Río, Coral, 2010. "Local versus overall segregation measures," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 30-38, July.
    9. Carlos Gradín & Coral del Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2011. "Occupational segregation by race and ethnicity in the US: Differences across states," Working Papers 190, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    10. Fidan Ana Kurtulus, 2012. "Affirmative Action and the Occupational Advancement of Minorities and Women During 1973–2003," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 213-246, April.
    11. Francine Blau & Peter Brummund & Albert Liu, 2013. "Trends in Occupational Segregation by Gender 1970–2009: Adjusting for the Impact of Changes in the Occupational Coding System," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(2), pages 471-492, April.
    12. Silber, Jacques, 1992. "Occupational Segregation Indices in the Multidimensional Case: A Note," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 68(202), pages 276-277, September.
    13. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Río & Carlos Gradín, 2010. "The extent of occupational segregation in the US: Differences by race, ethnicity, and gender," Working Papers 180, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    14. Francine D. Blau & Wallace E. Hendricks, 1979. "Occupational Segregation by Sex: Trends and Prospects," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 14(2), pages 197-210.
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    Cited by:

    1. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral Del Río, 2017. "Local Segregation and Well-Being," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(2), pages 269-287, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Occupational segregation; local segregation; race; ethnicity; gender; wages; U.S.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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