What is occupational segregation? Why is it considered problematic? How does occupational segregation affect women's earnings?

What will be an ideal response?


Occupational segregation is the tendency of certain jobs to be predominantly filled on the basis of gender or according to race and ethnicity. Segregation by gender is problematic when it contributes to long-standing disparities in the wages and salaries of men and women. In 2011, full-time women workers received an average of 82 cents for every dollar earned by male workers. This actually represents an improvement over the recent past; in 1979, the ratio was 62 cents to the dollar (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012b). Note, however, that these statistics refer to weekly earnings. Because women are more likely to be employed as part-time workers, on average they received 77 cents for every dollar earned by men when earnings are calculated on an annual basis.
If there is a high proportion of women in particular occupations, wages and salaries in these occupations are almost always lower than those of workers in male-dominated occupations. The division between "men's jobs" and "women's jobs" contributes substantially to the lower average earnings of women workers; according to one calculation, it accounts for about 20% of the male-female wage gap (Figure 10.12) (Cotter et al., 2006, p. 201)

Sociology

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Sociology

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What will be an ideal response?

Sociology

In the context of social class, which of the following statements is true of religion?

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Sociology