Devaluation for whom? Feminization and wages in an economically polarized labor market, 2003–2019.
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| Title: | Devaluation for whom? Feminization and wages in an economically polarized labor market, 2003–2019. |
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| Authors: | Li, Meiying |
| Source: | Social Forces. Dec2024, Vol. 103 Issue 2, p495-519. 25p. |
| Subjects: | Women's wages, Gender inequality, Labor market, Polarization (Economics), Women's education, Sociability, Wage differentials |
| Abstract: | Scholars have found that as the proportion of female workers in an occupation grows, wages generally decline. Yet, we know little about how this gender inequality intersects with other labor market inequalities. This study evaluates the feminization-wage relationship of an increasingly economically polarized post-2000 US labor market. First, I hypothesize that the negative effect of feminization on wages has diminished in high-skilled occupations due to the declining prejudice against (highly educated) women and increasing requirements for higher education, which functions as a form of social closure. Second, because of the increasing demand for "people skills" in higher-skilled occupations and their association with women, workers in higher-skilled occupations that require these skills may experience positive effects of feminization on wages. Not all people skills, however, are associated with women and similarly rewarded. Thus, I examine three people skills—persuasion, managerial, and sociability—that have different gender stereotypes. I test hypotheses using occupational-level fixed-effects models with individual-level data from the American Community Survey 2003–2019 (N = 15,996,526) and time-varying occupational-level data from the Occupational Information Network 2003–2019 (N = 460). Results show that for workers in occupations requiring more than sixteen years of education, feminization corresponds with higher wages. Additionally, the positive feminization-wage relationship is larger in occupations with a high demand for a gender-neutral people skill, persuasion. This moderation effect is not found for sociability and managerial skills, which are associated with women and men, respectively. This study calls for greater attention to how labor market polarization has shaped gender inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Social Forces is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 180255643 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Devaluation for whom? Feminization and wages in an economically polarized labor market, 2003–2019. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Meiying%22">Li, Meiying</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Social+Forces%22">Social Forces</searchLink>. Dec2024, Vol. 103 Issue 2, p495-519. 25p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Women's+wages%22">Women's wages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+inequality%22">Gender inequality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+market%22">Labor market</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Polarization+%28Economics%29%22">Polarization (Economics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Women's+education%22">Women's education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sociability%22">Sociability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wage+differentials%22">Wage differentials</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Scholars have found that as the proportion of female workers in an occupation grows, wages generally decline. Yet, we know little about how this gender inequality intersects with other labor market inequalities. This study evaluates the feminization-wage relationship of an increasingly economically polarized post-2000 US labor market. First, I hypothesize that the negative effect of feminization on wages has diminished in high-skilled occupations due to the declining prejudice against (highly educated) women and increasing requirements for higher education, which functions as a form of social closure. Second, because of the increasing demand for "people skills" in higher-skilled occupations and their association with women, workers in higher-skilled occupations that require these skills may experience positive effects of feminization on wages. Not all people skills, however, are associated with women and similarly rewarded. Thus, I examine three people skills—persuasion, managerial, and sociability—that have different gender stereotypes. I test hypotheses using occupational-level fixed-effects models with individual-level data from the American Community Survey 2003–2019 (N  = 15,996,526) and time-varying occupational-level data from the Occupational Information Network 2003–2019 (N  = 460). Results show that for workers in occupations requiring more than sixteen years of education, feminization corresponds with higher wages. Additionally, the positive feminization-wage relationship is larger in occupations with a high demand for a gender-neutral people skill, persuasion. This moderation effect is not found for sociability and managerial skills, which are associated with women and men, respectively. This study calls for greater attention to how labor market polarization has shaped gender inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Social Forces is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=180255643 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1093/sf/soae107 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 25 StartPage: 495 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Women's wages Type: general – SubjectFull: Gender inequality Type: general – SubjectFull: Labor market Type: general – SubjectFull: Polarization (Economics) Type: general – SubjectFull: Women's education Type: general – SubjectFull: Sociability Type: general – SubjectFull: Wage differentials Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Devaluation for whom? Feminization and wages in an economically polarized labor market, 2003–2019. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Li, Meiying IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 12 Text: Dec2024 Type: published Y: 2024 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00377732 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 103 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Social Forces Type: main |
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