Documenting occupational sorting by gender in the UK across three cohorts: does a grand convergence rely on societal movements?
Documenting occupational sorting by gender in the UK across three cohorts: does a grand convergence rely on societal movements?
Key takeaways
Bibliography: Lekfuangfu, W.N., Lordan, G., 2023. Documenting occupational sorting by gender in the UK across three cohorts: does a grand convergence rely on societal movements? Empir Econ 64, 2215–2256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-022-02314-5
Authors:: Warn N. Lekfuangfu, Grace Lordan
Collections:: UCL BCS Dump
First-page: 2215
We consider the extent to which temporal shifts have been responsible for an increased tendency for females to sort into traditionally male roles over time, versus childhood factors. Drawing on three cohort studies, which follow individuals born in the UK in 1958, 1970 and 2000, we compare the shift in the tendency of females in these cohorts to sort into traditionally male roles compared to males, to the combined effect of a large set of childhood variables. For all three cohorts, we find strong evidence of sorting along gendered lines, which has decreased over time, yet there is no erosion of the gender gap in the tendency to sort into occupations with the highest share of males. Within the cohort, we find little evidence that childhood variables change the tendency for females of either the average or highest ability to sort substantively differently. Our work is highly suggestive that temporal shifts are what matter in determining the differential gendered sorting patterns we have seen over the last number of decades, and also those that remain today. These temporal changes include attitudinal changes, technology advances, policy changes and economic shifts.
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Reading notes
Imported on 2024-05-07 21:38
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- & We consider the extent to which temporal shifts have been responsible for an increased tendency for females to sort into traditionally male roles over time, versus childhood factors. (p. 2215)
- & For all three cohorts, we find strong evidence of sorting along gendered lines, which has decreased over time, yet there is no erosion of the gender gap in the tendency to sort into occupations with the highest share of males. (p. 2215)
- & Within the cohort, we find little evidence that childhood variables change the tendency for females of either the average or highest ability to sort substantively differently. Our work is highly suggestive that temporal shifts are what matter in determining the differential gendered sorting patterns we have seen over the last number of decades, and also those that remain today. These temporal changes include attitudinal changes, technology advances, policy changes and economic shifts. (p. 2215)
- & Overall, we find that childhood factors, as measured by the variables that we capture in our data, do not noticeably change gendered sorting patterns, which is proxied by the coefficient of the female dummy, as we had anticipated. In contrast, by comparing the size of the coefficient in the same specification across birth cohorts, we observe that the female coefficient declines over the decades. We view this as highly suggestive evidence that it is temporal changes that matter the most in shaping these patterns. (p. 2251)
- & for all three cohorts, we find strong evidence of sorting along gendered lines, but this tendency has decreased substantively over time. That is, the gender gap has narrowed. (p. 2252)
- & Therefore, even though the females born in 2000 have nearly closed the gender gap in terms of hours and flexibility they are demanding, the type of work they are aspiring to sort into suggests that the gender pay gap may prevail unless the rewards given to different occupations change, or indeed preferences change for even younger cohorts. (p. 2252)