Occupational segregation still exists in our society because it has become engrained into the social structure. Occupational segregation exists because of differences, whether they are stereotypical, gender, racial, biological, economic or social.
Gender segregation specifically in the job market happens when stereotypes and preconceived notions about gender are used to determine what jobs men will perform well and what jobs women will perform well.
The cause of the gender wage gap can be attributed more to occupational segregation, and using stereotypes and discrimination before someone even holds a job, than pay discrimination within jobs.
“Gender” results from the socially constructed ideas about the behavior, actions, and roles a particular sex performs.
Of course gender socialization plays a large role in occupational segregation.
From the moment children are born we assign their gender—blue for boys and pink for girls. Toys for children are completely gendered—girls get kitchens and baby dolls while boys are given trucks and guns. Girls are taught to be loving, compassionate, caring, nurturing, and sympathetic. Boys are taught to be assertive, competitive, independent, courageous, and career-focused. Boys and Girls are taught to follow and exhibit these stereotypical traits. Gender roles are engrained into children’s minds from an extremely young age and everyone has a hand in socializing children to gender. We force our children to conform to gender “norms.” When a girl exhibits “male characteristics” or a boy exhibits “female characteristics” they are seen as deviant and challenging hegemony.
Girls are pushed to be teachers and caregivers while boys are pushed to be scientists and leaders. So when a woman decides to become a politician, she is seen as being deviant, deviating from the norm, as resisting the socially accepted and promoted role she is supposedly supposed to serve.
This is what has led to occupational segregation along gender lines. Because girls are supposed to be loving, compassionate, caring and nurturing, they should seek jobs in which these traits will be maximized. Therefore, being a scientist is not something that fits with being caring and loving; being a teacher or nurse, however, does.
According to an article by Today’s Workplace, “women do not get promoted to such powerful professional positions is because stereotypes in the workplace pose serious challenges to women’s career advancement. Stereotypes that impede women’s advancement include “a woman’s job is only supposed to supplement a man’s,” “women are not aggressive enough,” and “women are not as good at problem solving.” Today’s Workplace also says “studies show that women are often stereotyped as the ones who “take care” while men are stereotyped as the ones who “take charge.”
Personally, I believe that no one has anything to lose from gender diversity in all sectors of the workforce, only things to gain. Men and women could benefit from experiencing different perspectives on issues.
About Me
- Kasey
- I will be graduating from Arizona State University in December. Even though I feel like I have made the most of my college career, I am scared about what the future holds for me. Graduate studies are in my future, but what I ultimately want to do with my life, well, that is in limbo. I want to make a difference. I want to be challenged and challenge other people. I am an alumni of Omega Phi Alpha, National Service Sorority. I served as president in my final year, and it was definitely a challenge. Now, I am helping to found an organization on campus called Running Start, which is a non-profit geared toward getting young women interested in running for political office.
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