Measuring the Concentration of Women in Specific Occupations and Industries

Abstract

In most countries female workers have been generally shown to be concentrated in a limited range of occupations which are, in fact, usually “disproportionately female”. Very often, also, these female occupations belong to the least paid in the entire workforce. A similar concentration is observed when one looks at the distribution of women between industries. Such a concentration is, evidently, related to occupational concentration but the link is complex in so far as changes in the final demand for goods and services will affect the industrial structure of the labor force and as a consequence its occupational structure since industries do not have the same occupational mix.