The Urban Geographies of Occupational Segregation

Occupational segregation by sex is a persistent driver of labor market inequality, particularly in its horizontal form—the concentration of men and women in different sectors. This paper develops a structural account grounded in urban feminist political economy, emphasizing how segregation is sustained by the interaction of gendered mobility constraints and the uneven geography of economic activity. Using Santiago de Chile as a case study, we integrate georeferenced 2017 census data, commuting patterns, and satellite nightlight imagery to operationalize local labor market intensity and residential marginalization. We test two hypotheses—(H1) that segregation declines with economic activity, and (H2) that it rises with residential marginalization—using a suite of econometric methods, including OLS, spatial error models, and instrumental variables leveraging the historical incorporation of urban tracts. We further validate results through robustness checks and policy simulations that relocate social housing into advantaged areas. Our findings show that economic activity reduces segregation, while marginalization amplifies it; simulated housing integration policies yield effects comparable to decades of educational expansion. These results highlight the value of urban policy as a tool for advancing gender equity in labor markets.