Dynamics of Occupational Segregation and the Sexual Division of Labor

TANAKA Sigeto (tsigeto(AT)nik.sal.tohoku.ac.jp)

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Abstract

The first half of this paper examines the relationship between women's status and their continuity rate of full-time employment (CRFE). It is found that CRFE is independent of women's status in occupational structure, both longitudinally and cross-sectionally, even if the change in the composition of households' members is considered. The second half explains this finding with the aid of previous qualitative research. Everyday interaction in the white-collar workplace is more gendered than in blue-collar's, because female and male white-collar workers often work together. The feminization of white-collar work has caused sexism in the workplace and has had a negative effect on CRFE, along with the positive effect of upgrading women's occupational status.

Contents

1. The Accepted Theory

2. Trends

• 2.1. Sex gaps in the occupational structure
  • Occupational distribution
  • The wage gap
  • Gaps within the couple
• 2.2. Measurement of changes in the sexual division of labor
  • Problems in using the index of women's labor force participation rate
  • Exclude family enterprises
  • Women's employment and the division of housework
  • CRFE: women's continuity rate of full-time employment
• 2.3. External disturbing factors
  • Social support for child-care
  • Effect of the extended family

3. Good Jobs and Low Continuity

• 3.1. Difference among occupations
• 3.2. Controlling the husbands' status

4. The Hidden Mechanism of Patriarchy

• 4.1. Manifesto
• 4.2. The patriarchy theory
• 4.3. The marriage bar: patriarchy visualized in the workplace

5. Testing the Turnover Hypothesis

• 5.1. The turnover hypothesis formalized
• 5.2. An argument against the turnover hypothesis
• 5.3. The Sumitomo Semento case

6. Sexism and Segregation in the Workplace

• 6.1. Effect of sexism
• 6.2. Formal segregation in blue- and white-collar workplaces
  • Occupational concentration
  • Workplace concentration
  • Case studies
• 6.3. Another aspect of segregation
• 6.4. Sexism and day-to-day segregation

7. Conclusion

• 7.1. A latent causal process behind the feminization of white-collar work
• 7.2. Theoretical implications
• 7.3. In the future

Appendix.

• A. Details for the calculation of CRFE
• B. Comparability of the Census's occupational categories, 1950-70

TANAKA Sigeto (tsigeto(AT)nik.sal.tohoku.ac.jp)

Created: 1998-03-31. Updated: 2002-04-01.