Occupational Segregation's Positive Impact on the Gender Wage Gap

Katie Grace

Abstract:
In the United States, research shows that employed women make an inferior wage compared to employed men. Using the occupational level data from the U.S. Department of Labor that details gender distribution, this paper will explore the contribution of gendered occupational segregation to the gender wage gap. There is extensive literature that explains the contributing factors of occupational segregation and discrepancies on the gender wage gap. I will analyze and use said literature to support my hypothesis and further my reasoning for this study. In order to this, first I will calculate the gendered occupational segregation index for the years 2010-2021 using detailed gendered distribution of occupations in the U.S. I will then use a regression model to see the impact of this index on the median wages for women over median wages of men for the same period. I will also use control variables of the percentage of women with college degrees and their labor force participation.