Gender differences in occupation of employment within Australia

Abstract

Occupational segregation by sex is a persistent phenomenon in contemporary labourmarkets, and widely assumed to contribute to ongoing gender earnings inequality. Inspite of continuing change in the occupational composition of labour markets andlegislative efforts to proscribe sex discrimination in employment processes, only limitedchanges in overall indices of occupational segregation have been recorded in Australiaover recent decades. This paper uses disaggregated data to show that even this modestlevel of integration is underpinned by trends that are not unequivocally favourable forwomen. Our analysis emphasises the influence of men?s increased representation inpart-time work, the impact of employment over female share effects, and highlightsincreased feminisation in some areas alongside integrating trends in others. Overall, weemphasise the continuation of marked differences between men?s and women?soccupational distribution, particularly at a disaggregated level.