Vertical sex segregation

1993
australia

Vertical sex segregation refers to the concentration of men and women in different occupational fields or industries, with men typically being overrepresented in higher-paying and more prestigious positions while women are more often found in lower-paying and lower-status roles. This segregation can be observed across many sectors of the economy, including business, politics, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and even within specific professions such as law and medicine.

There are several factors that contribute to vertical sex segregation. These include societal norms and expectations about gender roles, stereotyping, discrimination, lack of access to education and training, biased hiring and promotion practices, as well as work-family conflicts and gendered expectations for caregiving responsibilities.

Vertical sex segregation is considered a form of gender inequality and can have significant implications for women in terms of their earnings, career advancement opportunities, and overall economic well-being. It contributes to the gender wage gap, limits women's representation in leadership positions, and perpetuates gender stereotypes and biases.

Efforts to reduce vertical sex segregation include implementing policies and practices that promote gender equality and diversity in the workplace, providing equal access to education and training opportunities, addressing biases and stereotypes, promoting work-life balance, and supporting women's career advancement.

Further reading

Berkers P.; Verboord M.; Weij F. (2016) "“These Critics (Still) Don’t Write Enough about Women Artists”: Gender Inequality in the Newspaper Coverage of Arts and Culture in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, 1955 2005", Gender and Society, 30(3), pp. 515-539. SAGE Publications Inc.. DOI: 10.1177/0891243216643320

Nemoto K. (2016) "Too few women at the top: The persistence of inequality in Japan", Too Few Women at the Top: The Persistence of Inequality in Japan, 1-282. Cornell University Press. DOI: [1]

Nemoto K. (2013) "When culture resists progress: Masculine organizational culture and its impacts on the vertical segregation of women in Japanese companies", Work, Employment and Society, 27(1), pp. 153-169. SAGE Publications Ltd. DOI: 10.1177/0950017012460324

Seierstad C.; Healy G. (2012) "Women's equality in the Scandinavian academy: A distant dream?", Work, Employment and Society, 26(2), pp. 296-313. SAGE Publications Ltd. DOI: 10.1177/0950017011432918

Seierstad C.; Opsahl T. (2011) "For the few not the many? The effects of affirmative action on presence, prominence, and social capital of women directors in Norway", Scandinavian Journal of Management, 27(1), pp. 44-54. . DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2010.10.002

Küskü F.; Özbilgin M.; Özkale L. (2007) "Against the tide: Gendered prejudice and disadvantage in engineering", Gender, Work and Organization, 14(2), pp. 109-129. . DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2007.00335.x

Stover D.L. (1994) "The Horizontal Distribution of Female Managers within Organizations", Work and Occupations, 21(4), pp. 385-402. . DOI: 10.1177/0730888494021004003

Watts M. (1993) "Explaining trends in occupational segregation: Some comments", European Sociological Review, 9(3), pp. 315-319. Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.esr.a036683