Essay On Occupational Segregation

Occupational segregation is a reality in the labor market and one of the significant reasons that explains the persistent wage gap between men and women. While some occupations, specifically those in healthcare and education, have become increasingly integrated over time, others remain highly concentrated by either men or women. Women are overrepresented in teaching and nursing, while men dominate the industries of business, engineering, and construction (source 1). This occupational segregation by sex is widespread in all industrialized nations and serves as an index of dissimilarity. Available research has documented an inverse correlation between occupational segregation and wages: a decline in occupational segregation marks an increase …show more content…
Vivian declared a double major in Political Science and Psychology, and explained, “I knew that these were what I wanted to study because I am curious of the answers that these disciplines strive to provide, and I have always wanted to learn about people-related subjects. The best part about studying these two majors is that they taught me how to think critically like a scientist and how to write effectively.” Annah also selected a major that she was personally interested in prior to entering college, “I already had an interest in Asian culture (Indian and Korean) before I applied to college so I specifically chose colleges that had good [Asian] programs or language classes. Once I started taking classes, my interest grew and it just felt natural to declare Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures as my major. I also like that my major is pretty interdisciplinary and allows me to pick out my own concentration.” Both Vivian and Annah described a strong appeal to acquiring knowledge in subjects that they were attracted to instead of targeting their majors for practicality in a