Gender Differences in Occupation of Employment within Australia

Occupational segregation by sex is a persistent phenomenon in contemporary labour markets, and widely assumed to contribute to ongoing gender earnings inequality. In spite of continuing change in the occupational composition of labour markets and legislative efforts to proscribe sex discrimination in employment processes, only limited changes in overall indices of occupational segregation have been recorded in Australia over recent decades. This paper uses disaggregated data to show that even this modest level of integration is underpinned by trends that are not unequivocally favourable for women. Our analysis emphasises the influence of men’s increased representation in part-time work, and highlights increased feminisation in some areas alongside integrating trends in others.