DOCUMENT RESUME ED 263 350 CE 042 830 AUTHOR Reskin, Barbara F., Ed.; Hartmann, Heidi I., Ed. TITLE Women's Work, Men's Work. Sex Segregation on the Job. INSTITUTION National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.; National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Committee on Women's Employment and Related Social Issues. SPONS AGENCY Carnegie Corp. of New York, N.Y.; Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.; Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington, DC. REPORT NO ISBN-0-309-03429-9 PUB DATE 86 CONTRACT 300-81-0282 NOTE 185p.; For a related document, see ED 247 445. AVAILABLE FROMNational Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20418 ($15.50). PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) -- Books (010) EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS Comparative Analysis; *Employed Women; *Employment Patterns; *Employment Practices; Females; Labor Market; Literature Reviews; Needs Assessment; Nontraditional Occupations; *Personnel Integration; *Personnel Policy; Policy Formation; Public Policy; Research Needs; Research Utilization; Salary Wage Differentials; Sex Bias; *Sex Differences; Sex Discrimination; Sex Fairness; Sex Role; Social Science Research; Trend Analysis IDENTIFIERS *Occupational Segregation ABSTRACT The literature on sex segregation in the workplace was reviewed to determine how it could be used in formulating policy in the area of sex fairness in the American labor market. The committee found that although women's occupational options have increased dramatically in the past decade, sex segregation is still widespread. Among those factors that appeared responsible for sex segregation in the workplace were the following: cultural beliefs; barriers to employment such as discrimination, socialization, and unequal education and training opportunities; family responsibilities; and the opportunity structure. Analysis of the existing laws and programs geared toward intervening in the workplace, in job training, and in education revealed that what is needed is not new legislation but rather more committed leadership, stricter enforcement, and enhancement of voluntary compliance with existing laws. In addition, enforcement agencies must develop much stronger programs of policy-relevant research on such issues as the sources of change in occupations in which the most dramatic improvements in sex-fair opportunities have occurred and the relative effectiveness of measures to improve enforcement and voluntary compliance. (This report includes 15 tables and the table of contents from a comparison report, "Sex Segregation in the Workplace.") (MN) Women's Work, Men's Work Sex Segregation onthe Job Barbara E Reskin and Heidi I. Hartmann, editors Committee on Women's Employment and Related Social Issues Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education National Research Council National Academy Press Washington, D.C. 1986 U.S. DEME/if OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION MATERIAL IN MICROFICHEONLY CENTER (ERIC) HAS BEE. GRANTED BY iff<IIdocument has been IsOroducbdas received from the person or organization mkt,a originating it. f// CI Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. points of view or opinions stated in this docu. TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES mint do not nacessanly represent official NIE INFORMATION CENTER(ERIC)." positron or policy. NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE NW WASHINGTON, DC 20418 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciencc s, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a private, nonprofit, self- governing membership corporation. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and enginening communities. It ic administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences. This project was sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Education. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Women's work, men's work. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Sex discrimination in employmentUnited States. 2. WomenEmploymentUnited States.3. Equal pay for equal workUnited States.4. Sex discrimination Law and legislationUnited States. I. Reskin, Barbara F. II. Hartmann, Heidi I. III. National Research Council (U.S.) Committee on Women's Employment and Related Social Issues. IV. National Research Council (U.S.) Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. HD6060.5.U5W661985331.1'33'0973 85-11541 ISBN 0-309-03429-9 Copyright © 1986 by the National Academy of Sciences No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise copied for public or private use, without written permission from the publisher, except for the purposes of official use by the United States government. Printed in the United States of America 3 r. Committee on Women's Employment and Related Social Issues ALICE S. ILCHMAN (Chair), President, Sarah Lawrence College CECILIA BURCIAGA, Office of the President, Stanford University CYNTHIA FUCHS EPSTEIN, Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Russell Sage Foundation, New York LAWRENCE M. KAHN, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Illinois GENE E. KOFKE, Montclair, N.J. ROBERT KRAUT, Bell Communications Research, Morristown, N.J. JEAN BAKER MILLER, Stone Center for Developmental Services and Studies, Wellesley College ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Georgetown University Law Center GARY (AFIELD, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago NAOMI R. QUINN, Department of Anthropology, Duke University ISABEL V. SAWHILL, The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C. ROBERT M. SOLOW, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Inotitute of Technology LOUISE A. TILLY, Graduate Faculty, Historical Studies, New School for Social Research DONALD J. TREIMAN, Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles iii Contents Tables and Figures vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xi 1 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SEX SEGREGATION IN THE WORKPLACE 1 Women in the Labor Market, 2 Sex Segregation in the Workplace, 5 The Consequences of Sex Segregation in Employment, 9 Conclusion, 17 2SEX SEGREGATION: EXTENT AND RECENT TRENDS 18 Current Extent of Sex Segregation, 20 Recent Trends in Occupational Sex Segregation, 22 Occupational Sex Segregation Projected Through 1990, '32 Summary and Conclusion, 35 3EXPLAINING SEX SEGREGATION IN THE WORKPLACE 37 Cultural Beliefs About Gender and Work, 38 Barriers to Employment, 44 Socialization and Education, 56 Family Responsibilities, 68 The Opportunity Structure and Sex Segregation, 75 Conclusion, 80 v vi CONTENTS 4 REDUCING SEX SEGREGATION IN THE WORKPLACE 83 Interventions Directed at the Workplace, 84 Interventions Directed at Job Training and Vocational and General Education, 99 Interventions to Accommodate Family Responsibilities, 116 Conclusion, 118 5 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 123 Summary of Findings, 124 Policy Recommendations, 130 Data and Research Recommendations, 135 REFERENCES 141 APPENDIX A: Contents, Sex Segregation in the Workplace 163 APPENDIX B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff 165 INDEX 169 6 Tables and Figures TABLES 1-1Occupational Distribution Over Major Occupational Groups by Race and Sex, 1984. 6 1-2Decomposition of Earnings Differentials Between Men and Women Into Within-Occupation and Between-Occupation Components, for Full-Time Year-Round Workers in Selected Years, 1970-1979. 11 2-1Occupational Segregation Indices Across Major Census Categories for Sex and Race, 1940-1981. 19 2-2Employment in the 10 Largest Occupations for Men and Women, 1980. 21 2-3Sex Distribution Over Major Industrial Categories for Nonagricultural Industries, October 19134. 22 2-4Actual and Predicted Segregation Indices, 1950-1980, and Percentage Decline. 25 2-5Percentage Female in Detailed Occupational Groups by Age, Twelve-Month Annual Averages, December 1981. 27 2-6Sources of Employment Growth for Women, 1970-1980. 28 2-7Female-Dominated