Generalized occupational segregation index: International comparisons over time

• In Event: Occupational Segregation and the Wage Gap Between Men and Women

Abstract

Occupational segregation, or unequal likelihoods for members of one group to work in given occupations compared to other groups, has been studied for decades as one metric of equity. However, prior work has focused on the binary case (e.g., gender) and disregarded sorting across firms. It also has focused on one context–i.e., a country at a given snapshot in time. In this paper, we develop a generalized occupational segregation index which can take any number of groups and is estimated at the firm level. We show how the national average can be decomposed into within and between firm segregation, and develop methods for comparing against unsegregated allotment hiring distributions to account for finite positions at each firm for each occupation. We estimate these indexes on gender and educational attainment using LinkedIn data across several countries and across time, and show how occupational segregation compares across time and countries.

Author

• Matthew Baird, LinkedIn
  Presenting Author