Occupational Gender Segregation in Latin America: Explanatory Power of Social Policy Factors

• In Event: Dimensions of Social Policy in Latin America

Abstract

Female labor market participation has steadily risen over the last decades in Latin America. Nevertheless the proportion of Latin American women in the workforce is still relatively low. Moreover occupational segregation by gender is particularly high in the region, causing economic inefficiency, labor market rigidity, and especially gender inequalities. Accordingly, the investigation into the causes of gender-based occupational segregation has gained more and more attention among scholars from different disciplines. While current research suggests a great number of economic, sociological, and political factors that prove pertinent in explaining gender inequalities in the labor market, comparative literature on Latin America has only recently started to pay attention to the effects of social policies on women’s and men’s labor market activities and positions. Most importantly, quantitative comparative studies on the influence of social policy factors for gender differences in employment in Latin America are still lacking. The paper shall close this gap. Using a multilevel approach, the primary objective is to test the relative importance of social policy factors in explaining cross-national patterns of occupational gender segregation in Latin America, while controlling for existing economic and sociological explanations. Hence the paper contributes to a better understanding of the causes of occupational gender segregation in Latin America and therefore provides important information about the reasons for its persistence.

Author

• Dominique Anne Oehrli, University of Bern