State of the Union 2019: Occupational Segregation

  • The gender segregation of occupations is less pronounced among millennials than among any other generation in recent U.S. history. 
  • By contrast, millennials are experiencing just as much racial and ethnic occupational segregation as prior generations, even though millennials are less tolerant of overt expressions of racism. 
  • Both types of occupational segregation—gender and racial-ethnic—are very consequential for wages. Among millennials, occupational segregation accounts for 28 percent of the gender wage gap and 39 to 49 percent of racial wage gaps.

Reference Information

Author: 

Kim A. Weeden
Publisher: 
Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality
Publication Date: 
June 2019