Occupational gender segregation in the US labor market
Indeed, occupational gender segregation is an important issue to be discussed and tried to be solved. Occupational gender segregation does not only reveal itself by the gap in men’s and women’s salaries, but it occurs even on a deeper level of women’s minds. It is important to note how women consider and choose the possible job positions before making an application (Quast, 2012). Some women do not even consider for application the positions that stereotypically considered as men’s job such as Wall Street finance, consulting. Such women’s behavior and thinking are also signs of occupational gender segregation, which should be discussed and eliminated.
Gender ideology in households
Household responsibilities are another hot topic in gender-related inequalities or segregation. The expected household responsibility of women, while man is earning money, is not even a winning situation for men as well. The financial responsibility can be stressful, putting a lot of pressure on men as well, since not everyone can earn enough money to cover the whole family’s financial needs. An important issue in household duties is teaching the young generation to be independent of their gender. Both men and women should be able to take care of the house or financially support the family.
The roots of gender segregation in the U.S.
Understanding the roots of gender segregation is an important factor in its elimination. Other than the traditional assumption that a certain type of work is more suitable for a particular gender, the reason for such assumption is also important when talking about the factors causing occupational gender segregation. It is obvious that the occupation gender segregation is coming from the old tradition of dividing the responsibilities by gender. Such need to divide the work and responsibilities were directly related to the living conditions and environment of that time. Being aware that today’s world substantially differs from the world of our ancestors would help to eliminate occupational gender segregation.
References
Quast, L. (2012). How To Reduce Workplace Gender Segregation and Help Women Obtain Higher Paying Jobs. Forbes. Web.