Occupational Segregation in Industrial Society: A Twelve-Nation Comparison of Gender and Marital Differences in Occupational Attainment

摘要

The study accomplishes two major tasks. First, using sample survey data from 12 modern industrial societies, it investigates gender differences in occupational distribution by comparing the attainment patterns of currently employed men and women. Second, by comparing the distributions and attainments of married and never married women, the study investigates whether occupational segregation by sex can be attributed to gender differences in family responsibilities. The explanations that make this claim are based on the premise that, unlike men, women who work outside the home contend with two distinct sets of responsibilities, those of wife/mother as well as worker. The comparative perspective also permits an investigation of whether sex differences in occupational distribution and attainment can be attributed to historical or cultural circumstances unique to individual countries, or whether they derive in part from more fundamental features of industrial society.