Abstract

We propose an approach to analyze stratification of occupations by gender (when one sex is predominantly segregated into low-paying occupations). We extend the conventional framework for measuring segregation to consider the quality of occupations held by each group, using the concentration curve and indices. With this approach, we investigate the long-term trends of stratification by gender in the US labor market using census data. We show that the decline in segregation over time was accompanied by a deeper and longer reduction in stratification. The different characteristics of workers by sex cannot account for current segregation or stratification levels. The profound changes in the composition of workers over time (e.g. by education and marital status), however, did help to substantially explain their trends, while the level of stratification was farther reduced by gender-biased changes in the earnings structure. Changes in conditional occupational distributions only contributed to these declines before 1990.