Job Loss Gender Gap and Occupational Segregation

• In Event: 2451 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 6. Occupational Segregation by Gender

Abstract

The US Current Population Survey 2000-2016 shows that among full-time workers, men are about twice as likely to lose jobs involuntary as women. This is primarily due to higher job loss rates in male-dominated occupations and comparably lower job loss rates in female-dominated occupations. Regression and decomposition analysis shows that gender-based occupational segregation contributes to at least a 70% difference in the gender gap in involuntary job loss rates, while gender differences in demographic, human capital, and health measures only explain a small amount of such a gender gap. Market volatility, population aging, and technological innovations are possible causes of varying job loss rates across gendered occupations and industries. Besides work-related factors, personal characteristics also influence involuntary job loss probability. The nonlinear effect of age on job loss differs by gender and suggests that women of child-rearing age are penalized in the labor market, compared to women in other age groups. The overall high job loss rates among men imply that the observed gender gap in involuntary job loss is likely to remain large and will likely contribute to gender composition shift in the US labor force faster than anticipated.

Author

• Xi Chen, Quinnipiac University