Does Feminization Always Lead to A Decline in Earnings? Evidence from China’s Marketization (1988—2013)

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Abstract

Studies on occupational and industrial sex segregation have found that feminization is associated with a decline in the average earnings of workers. Building upon case studies of emerging industries, I argue that the relationship between feminization and earnings varies by industry, depending on the industry’s development, gender stereotype and overall skill level of incumbents. Specifically, workers are shielded from negative effects of feminization on earnings in emerging industries and female higher-skilled industries. I test the hypotheses by analyzing industrial feminization and changes in earnings during the marketization in China from 1988 to 2013. Using China Household Income Project (CHIP) and China Labor Statistical Yearbook (CLSY) (7 waves and 89,860 individuals), results of multilevel models support the hypotheses. The negative relationship between feminization and earnings appears only in the male and emerging lower-skilled industries. Findings call for attention on the different relationships between sex segregation and earnings in different industries. Moreover, results show that feminization has different implications on women and men’s earnings. When feminization is negatively associated with earnings, this negative relationship is stronger for men than women, suggesting that gender inequality in these industries exists in the form of impeding women’s entry. In contrast, in the industries that feminization has a positive relationship with earnings, this positive relationship is stronger for men than women, which may reveal a source of gender earning gap.

Author

• Meiying Li, University of Southern California