Gendered Occupational Segregation Case Study

This assignment aims to explain the gendered occupational segregation in the UK, and it will focus on critically evaluating the different theories that attempt to justify this matter.

Blackburn et al (2002) state that the existence of gendered occupational segregation in the UK is a well-known fact, meaning that there is a tendency for men and women to have different occupations and roles.

Firstly, it is indispensable to explain the meaning of segregation. There is a collective trend to relate the level of segregation as a measure of gender inequality, but this is not essentially true. In fact, the overall level of segregation is a combination of vertical and horizontal segregation.

Around 1979, Hakim introduced the idea of vertical and

When breaking down the labour market, it is possible to relate some patterns of gender segregation to the fact that young girls themselves tend to select or are influence into choosing gender stereotypical jobs, and this starts at very young age, when they join school.

Figures from the Office of National Statistic show that this trend is changing. Their reports show that in 2014, in the UK, 51,2% of women who graduated and had a child, were working in a high skilled job, and only 6.8% of women who had not graduated and have a dependent child were in high skilled jobs. This shows that nowadays more women tend to go for higher education and that even with children, they are investing on their human capital.

However, this report highlights the fact that 21,1% of women work in professional occupations, 17,4% administrative and secretarial occupations and 16,5% in caring, leisure and other services. Confirming that, women still opt for jobs that require less dedication from