Role segregation

Date and country of first publication

1971
United States

Definition

Role segregation refers to the practice of separating individuals into different roles or jobs based on categories such as gender, race, or age. In role segregation, certain roles or jobs are reserved exclusively for certain groups, while other groups are restricted from accessing those roles. This can be due to societal norms, stereotypes, or discriminatory practices.

Role segregation can be observed in various aspects of society, such as the workplace, education, and household chores. For example, historically, women were often limited to specific roles such as secretaries, teachers, or nurses, while men dominated fields such as engineering, business, or politics. Similarly, certain races or ethnicities have faced restrictions or biases when it comes to career opportunities.

Role segregation can have negative consequences, such as reinforcing inequalities, limiting individual choices and opportunities, and perpetuating stereotypes and discrimination. Efforts to break down role segregation include promoting diversity and inclusion, challenging gender norms and stereotypes, implementing equal opportunity policies, and advocating for social change.

Related segregation forms

Role segregation is frequently discussed in the literature with the following segregation forms:

residential segregation, neighborhood segregation, marital role segregation, gender segregation, metropolitan segregation, area segregation, county segregation, spatial segregation, physical segregation, social segregation, community segregation

This visualization is based on the study The Multidisciplinary Landscape of Segregation Research.

For the complete network of interrelated segregation forms, please refer to:

• First year of publication

• Louvain clusters

• Betweenness centrality

• Disciplines in which segregation forms first emerged (Scopus database).

Notes

At its current state, this definition has been generated by a Large Language Model (LLM) so far without review by an independent researcher or a member of the curating team of segregation experts that keep the Segregation Wiki online. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee its reliability, completeness and timeliness. Please use this content with caution and verify information as needed. Also, feel free to improve on the definition as you see fit, including the use of references and other informational resources. We value your input in enhancing the quality and accuracy of the definitions of segregation forms collectively offered in the Segregation Wiki ©.

Role segregation appears in the following literature

Baum M. (1971). Love, Marriage and the Division of Labor. Sociological Inquiry, 41(1), 107-117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1971.tb01207.x

Van Der Geest S. (1976). Role relationships between husband and wife in rural Ghana. Journal of Marriage and Family, 38(3), 572-578. https://doi.org/10.2307/350425

Szinovacz M.E. (1977). Role allocation, family structure and female employment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 39(4), 781-791. https://doi.org/10.2307/350482

Jordan J.W. (1978). Role segregation for fun and profit: The daily behavior of the west african lorry driver. Africa, 48(1), 30-46. https://doi.org/10.2307/1158709

Richards E.F. (198). Network ties, kin ties, and marital role organization: Bott's hypothesis reconsidered. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 11(2), 139-151. https://doi.org/

Richards E.F. (198). Network ties, kin ties, and marital role organization: Bott's hypothesis reconsidered. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 11(2), 139-151. https://doi.org/

Goldenberg S. (1984). An Empirical Test of Bott's Network Hypotheses, Based on Analysis of Ethnographic Atlas Data. Cross-Cultural Research, 19(1-4), 127-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/106939718401900105

Danforth S.C. (1984). The social and political implications of muslim middle eastern women’s participation in violent political conflict. Women and Politics, 4(1), 35-54. https://doi.org/10.1300/J014v04n01_03

Yi E.K. (1986). Implications of conjugal role segregation for extrafamilial relationships: A network model. Social Networks, 8(2), 119-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-8733(86)80001-6

Wiley J. (1988). Role blurring in a holistic therapeutic community: An Intermediary Response to Institutionalization and Deinstitutionalization. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 17(1), 3-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241688171001

Reiko A. (1988). Dilemmas and Accommodations of Married Japanese Women in White Collar Employment. Critical Asian Studies, 20(3), 54-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.1988.10412574

Wagner W., Kirchler E., Clack F., Tekarslan E., Verma J. (199). Male dominance, role segregation, and spouses' interdependence in conflict: A Cross Cultural Study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21(1), 48-70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022190211002

Schönpflug U., Silbereisen R.K., Schulz J. (199). Perceived decision making influence in turkish migrant workers' and German workers' families: The Impact of Social Support. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21(3), 261-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022190213001

Maryanski A., Ishii-Kuntz M. (1991). A cross species application of bott's hypothesis on role segregation and social networks. Sociological Perspectives, 34(4), 403-425. https://doi.org/10.2307/1389400

Xuewen S., Stockman N., Bonney N. (1992). The dual burden: East and west (Women's working lives in china, japan and great britain). International Sociology, 7(2), 209-223. https://doi.org/10.1177/026858092007002006

Jansson S. (1995). Food practices and division of domestic labour. A comparison between British and Swedish households. The Sociological Review, 43(3), 462-477. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.1995.tb00611.x

Dozier D.M., Broom G.M. (1995). Evolution of the Manager Role in Public Relations Practice. Journal of Public Relations Research, 7(1), 3-26. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532754xjprr0701_02

Zafar M.I. (1996). Husband wife roles as a correlate of contraceptive and fertility behaviour. Pakistan Development Review, 35(2), 145-170. https://doi.org/10.30541/v35i2pp.145-170

Carr C., Case D.T. (2005). The Nature of Leadership in Ohio Hopewellian Societies: Role Segregation and the Transformation from Shamanism. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology, 177-237. Springer Nature.https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-27327-1_5

Amuedo-Dorantes C., De La Rica S. (2006). The Role of Segregation and Pay Structure on the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Matched Employer Employee Data for Spain. B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 5(1), -. De Gruyter Open Ltd.https://doi.org/10.1515/1538-0645.1498

Thorn S.H., Pittman A., Myers R.E., Slaughter C. (2009). Increasing community integration and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30(5), 891-901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2009.01.001

Müller T., Ramirez J. (2009). Wage inequality and segregation between native and immigrant workers in Switzerland: Evidence using matched employee employer data. Research on Economic Inequality, 17(), 205-243. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1049-2585(2009)0000017014

Oyserman D., Yoon K.-I. (2009). Neighborhood Effects on Racial Ethnic Identity: The Undermining Role of Segregation. Race and Social Problems, 1(2), 67-76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-009-9007-1

Waldrep C. (201). Jury discrimination: The supreme court, public opinion, and a grassroots fight for racial equality in Mississippi. Jury Discrimination: The Supreme Court, Public Opinion, and a Grassroots Fight for Racial Equality in Mississippi, 1-325. University of Georgia Press.https://doi.org/

vonLockette N.D. (201). The impact of metropolitan residential segregation on the employment chances of blacks and whites in the United States. City and Community, 9(3), 256-273. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6040.2010.01332.x

Hao Y., Landrine H., Smith T., Kaw C., Corral I., Stein K. (2011). Residential Segregation and Disparities in Health Related Quality of Life Among Black and White Cancer Survivors. Health Psychology, 30(2), 137-144. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022096

Goldberg W.A., Kelly E., Matthews N.L., Kang H., Li W., Sumaroka M. (2012). The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Gender, Culture, and College Students' Views about Work and Family. Journal of Social Issues, 68(4), 814-837. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2012.01777.x

Harbula H. (2013). Family as a means of survival. Formation and inside processes of a Roma ghetto in şumuleu ciuc. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Sociologia, 2013(2), 175-192. https://doi.org/

Mackie C. (2014). Social reform and segregation: Tenant housing in the Isle of lewis, 1795 1900. Vernacular Architecture, 45(1), 54-66. Maney Publishing.https://doi.org/10.1179/0305547714Z.00000000024

Carol S. (2014). The Intergenerational Transmission of Intermarriage Attitudes and Intergroup Friendships: The Role of Turkish Migrant Parents. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 40(10), 1550-1571. Routledge.https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2013.872557

Alexandre M. (2015). Endogenous categorization and group inequality. International Journal of Social Economics, 42(3), 276-295. Emerald Group Holdings Ltd..https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-10-2013-0220

Eisen C.H., Bowie J.V., Gaskin D.J., LaVeist T.A., Thorpe R.J., Jr. (2015). The Contribution of Social and Environmental Factors to Race Differences in Dental Services Use. Journal of Urban Health, 92(3), 415-421. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-015-9938-3

Camerino D. (2016). Gender differences in safety, health and work/family interference promoting equity. Social and Family Issues in Shift Work and Non Standard Working Hours, 153-179. Springer International Publishing.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42286-2_8

Langellier B.A. (2016). An agent based simulation of persistent inequalities in health behavior: Understanding the interdependent roles of segregation, clustering, and social influence. SSM - Population Health, 2(), 757-769. Elsevier Ltd..https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2016.10.006

Light M.T., Iceland J. (2016). The social context of racial boundary negotiations: Segregation, hate crime, and hispanic racial identification in metropolitan America. Sociological Science, 3(), 61-84. Society for Sociological Science.https://doi.org/10.15195/v3.a4

Laurence J. (2017). Wider community Segregation and the Effect of Neighbourhood Ethnic Diversity on Social Capital: An Investigation into Intra Neighbourhood Trust in Great Britain and London. Sociology, 51(5), 1011-1033. SAGE Publications Ltd.https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038516641867

Razzu G., Singleton C. (2018). Segregation and Gender Gaps in the United Kingdom's Great Recession and Recovery. Feminist Economics, 24(4), 31-55. Routledge.https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2018.1451907

Agbaria A.K. (2018). Israeli education and the Apartheid in South Africa: ongoing insights. Intercultural Education, 29(2), 218-235. Routledge.https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2018.1429573

Laurence J., Schmid K., Rae J.R., Hewstone M. (2019). Prejudice, Contact, and Threat at the Diversity Segregation Nexus: A Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of How Ethnic Out Group Size and Segregation Interrelate for Inter Group Relations. Social Forces, 97(3), 1029-1065. Oxford University Press.https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soy079

Clayton-Hathway K., Fasbender U. (2019). Women as leaders and managers in sports: Understanding key career enablers and constraints in the British horseracing industry. Women, Business and Leadership: Gender and Organisations, 403-420. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd..https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786432711.00032

Brian Ferguson R. (2021). Masculinity and war. Current Anthropology, 62(S23), S112-S124. University of Chicago Press.https://doi.org/10.1086/711622

Friesenecker M., Kazepov Y. (2021). Housing vienna: The socio spatial effects of inclusionary and exclusionary mechanisms of housing provision. Social Inclusion, 9(2), 77-90. Cogitatio Press.https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v9i2.3837

Garrido M. (2021). Reconceptualizing Segregation from the Global South. City and Community, 20(1), 24-37. SAGE Publications Inc..https://doi.org/10.1111/cico.12504

Johnson R.C. (2021). Early origins of racial health disparities: Human capital policy is health policy. Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, 131-149. Elsevier.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815970-5.00009-7

Kolak M. (2021). Distilling the Effect of the Great Recession on Food Access in a Segregated City: A Spatial, Quasi Experimental Approach. Professional Geographer, 73(4), 582-593. Routledge.https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2021.1922296