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Chapter 2: Summary of Statistics and Research

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 With occupational segregation recognised as a significant contributor to economic and social inequality between men and women, this chapter presents the available evidence on the key reported divisions between boys and girls, men and women, in Scottish society. There are four themes that frame the discussion in this chapter. First, attention is given to the broad labour market inequalities between women and men in Scotland. Second, attention turns to gender segregation within the early years and education workforce. Third, evidence regarding school attainment and subject choice is presented to understand better one critical issue in how occupational segregation emerges. Finally, the chapter looks at vertical segregation so as to understand better the factors that may be affecting women getting to the top in organisations.

2.2 The Scottish Labour Market: a gender analysis

2.2.1 Over the last 40 years, there has been an overall increase in the employment rate in Scotland. The increase represents significant rises in female employment, from a position where less than 50% of women in the 1960s were participating in the labour market, to over 70% in 2005. During this time, there have also been reductions in male employment, with over 90% of working age men in employment in the 1960s/1970s, reducing to less than 80% in 2005 (Scottish Executive 2006e). Looking beyond these broad trends, however, shows continuance of significant labour market inequalities between women and men in Scotland.

Part-Time Employment

2.2.2 The first significant difference is the propensity for women to work part-time: 60% of all female employees, compared with 9% of all male employees in 2006 (Equal Opportunities Commission 2006). Women's involvement in part-time employment is a trend that continues throughout the life-course; with only slightly higher rates of part-time working among 16-24 year olds (44%) as compared with women aged 25-44 (39%) and those aged 45-64 (40%). In contrast, among male employees, it is young men who are most likely to work part-time, with relatively high levels of part-time working by men aged 16-24 years (30%). After this time, rates of part-time working reduce significantly; with only 4% of men aged 25-44 and 7% among men aged 45-64 working part-time. Men who are still participating in the labour market beyond retirement age are the majority of those in part-time employment in that age group (61% of men working aged 65 and over).

2.2.3 The continuance of women's involvement in part-time employment throughout their working lives is strongly linked to the primary role women often play in caring (particularly parenting). Figures from 2005, (Table 2.1) show that women with children aged below 11 years are more likely to work part-time than full-time, while men with children are far less likely to work part-time (Equal Opportunities Commission 2006). This trend is part of a male 'breadwinner' model common in the UK and Ireland, where women take primary responsibility for childcare and men take primary responsibility for providing the household income through employment (Lewis 2006).

Table 2.1: Parents' employment, by gender and age of children

Source: Labour Force Survey 2005

Sector/Occupational Divisions

2.2.3 The second significant difference is the sectors and occupations in which women and men participate. Figures from 2005 (Table 2.2) show that women are the majority of those employed in health and social work (77%) and education (75%), while men make up the majority of those employed in manufacturing (75%), transport, storage & communication (76%) and construction (93%) (Equal Opportunities Commission 2006).

Table 2.2: Employment³by sector, by gender 2005

Source: Labour Force Survey 2005

2.2.4 Although significant gender inequalities remain within the labour market in Scotland, there have been some critical changes in occupational patterns in recent years. Notably, there has been a decline in the proportion of men working in education (from 36% in 1998 to 29% in 2005) and an increase in men working in public administration and defence (43% in 1998 to 50% in 2005) ⁴.

2.2.5 Table 2.3 shows that in 2005 women continued to dominate in personal social services (83%), administrative and secretarial (82%) and sales and customer services (68%), while men were the majority in skilled trades (92%), as process, plant and machine operatives (88%) and as managers and senior officials (64%).

Table 2.3: Employment⁵by occupation and gender, 2005

Source: Labour Force Survey 2005

Public Sector Employment

2.2.6 The third difference is that women are far more likely than men to work in the public sector. Figures on public and private sector employment in Scotland collected through the Labour Force Survey show that almost 40% of female employees work in the public sector, compared with just over 20% of male employees ⁶. Specifically, women are a significant majority of employees in Local Government (67%) and the NHS (78%). This is perhaps not surprising given the predominance of women in education, and the health and social work sectors, although the perceived availability of flexible working arrangements is one further explanation for women's dominance in public sector jobs.

Gender Pay Gap⁷

2.2.7 Perhaps the most significant gender inequality affecting women in the labour market is the gender pay gap. Table 2.4 shows that, based on median hourly pay in 2007, the full-time gender pay gap was 12%, while using mean hourly pay the gender pay gap was 15%. Comparing median hourly pay between women and men in part-time employment indicates a small gender pay gap in favour of women, with women in part-time work earning 102% of the hourly rate of pay of men in part-time work. Using mean hourly earnings, the gender pay gap is 8% - with women earning 92% of the hourly rate of pay of men in part-time work. Given that the majority of part-time employment by men takes place in their early years in employment (16-24 years) (when their earnings are lowest), while women work part-time throughout their working lives (across their earnings lifetime), comparing part-time male employment with part-time female employment is less helpful conceptually than if we compare median and mean hourly pay for men in full-time employment with women in part-time employment. Here we find that the gender pay gap is 37% in favour of men using median figures and 34% in favour of men using mean figures.

Table 2.4: Median/Mean hourly pay in Scotland, by gender, 2007

Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2007

Black and Minority Ethnic Women

2.2.8 The report Moving on Up?: Visible minority ethnic women at work (Equal Opportunities Commission 2007c) highlights the relevance of ethnicity to labour market disadvantage, While we know that minority ethnic communities face disadvantage in the labour market, we still know little about the experiences of minority ethnic women, whose working lives are likely to be influenced by the adverse impact of both racism and sexism. The report found that some barriers are shared by women from minority and majority ethnic groups e.g. difficulties with childcare and difficulties progressing into senior positions within organisations. However, there is evidence that there are further and particular barriers faced by ethnic minority women e.g. a lack of culturally sensitive services to support women wishing to move into work and a lack of positive role models in senior positions in organisations. Institutional racism is further argued "to work in complex and subtle ways to prevent minority ethnic women from participation and progression in the Scottish labour market. This can be overt, for example racist or sexist language to women staff members or covert, where the discrimination may not be intentional but still has an adverse/disproportionate impact, for example, lack of provision for flexible working, or prayer spaces" (p.13).

2.3 School Education and Qualifications

2.3.1 Figures from 2007 show that, of the primary school population, there are larger numbers of boys (191,824) than girls (184,122). The secondary school population was 154,845 male and 154,715 female in 2007; representing only a very slightly larger number of male school pupils than female pupils in secondary schools in Scotland. In recent years pupil numbers have been reducing, in line with a fall in the population (Scottish Government 2008b).

Subject Choices

2.3.2 The subject choices of boys and girls in secondary schools vary significantly along gender lines. While some subjects are quite evenly split, e.g. English, Maths and Chemistry, there continue to be significant differences in the majority of subjects that boys and girls take in secondary school. For example, looking at the gender differences in Standard Grade subjects shows that boys dominate in technological studies (92%), woodworking skills (87%), craft and design (77%) and physics (72%), while girls dominate in home economics (80%), administration (74%), travel and tourism (71%) and biology (70%). At Higher Grade, boys dominate in technological studies (94%), computing studies (75%), physical education (72%) and physics (70%), while girls dominate in home economics (93%), administration (81%), Spanish (80%) and French (79%) ⁸.

2.3.3 McQuaid & Bond (2004) found that subject choices made by young people were influenced by whether a subject was compulsory or not. Beyond this, interest in and being good at the subject were the next most common reasons for choosing a subject. For some pupils, subject choice was based on its potential usefulness in any future employment, for instance science subjects, computing and administration were subjects chosen for this reason. These broad trends were found to be similar for both boys and girls.

2.3.4 The two studies conducted in recent years on career aspirations and career choices of young people ( EOC 2001, McQuaid & Bond 2004) both highlight the continuance of gender stereotypes among young people about the appropriateness of specific jobs for men and women. The UK-wide EOC study, for example, found that the majority of young people saw some jobs as appropriate only for men: construction/building (82%), plumbing (81%) and engineering (76%), and some that were appropriate only for women: childcare (61%), hairdressing (50%) and nursing (48%). Some jobs were, however, viewed as appropriate for both women and for men: doctor (88%), head-teacher (88%), IT (83%), primary school teacher (74%) and architect (64%). Interestingly, manual jobs tended to be viewed in more gendered terms than non-manual jobs. Similar trends were found in the McQuaid & Bond (2004) study.

2.3.5 Both studies reported two interesting findings. First, girls are less likely than boys to hold stereotyped views on the appropriateness of jobs/occupations for women or for men. Second, younger children (aged 11), were more likely to say that jobs were only suitable for women or for men. This indicates that as young people grow older they grow more aware that occupations need not be gender specific, although there remain significant stereotypical views held by both boys and girls, particularly in relation to the suitability of traditionally male manual jobs for girls/women.

School Attainment

2.3.6 A significant policy concern in Scotland and elsewhere at present is the differential educational outcomes between boys and girls (see Northern Ireland Assembly 2001, Tinklin et al 2001, Kane 2006). Data on secondary school examination results in Scotland (Scottish Government 2007d) shows that, for academic years 2004/5 to 2006/07, girls' attainment levels were continually higher than boys. This differential achievement is particularly noticeable in relation to the achievement of 5+ awards at SCQF Level 4 and Level 5 (see Table 2.5). The same trends are evident at S5 and S6 levels, where attainment is higher for girls than boys at all stages and all categories (Scottish Government 2007d).

Table 2.5: S4 pupils achieving Standard Grades, by gender, 2004/05-2006/07

Source: SQA Examination Results in Scottish Schools

2.3.7 There are also gender differences in staying on rates at S5 and S6. The pupil census in Scotland for 2007 (Scottish Government 2008b) shows that 80% of female secondary school pupils stayed on at school to S5, compared with 73% of male secondary school pupils. The staying on rate to S5 for secondary school pupils has remained relatively high since the mid 1990s, with the same proportionate difference in rates between boys and girls. In 2007, 48% of female pupils stayed on until S6 compared with 40% of male pupils.

2.3.8 Among the explanations for differences in educational attainment identified through the literature review conducted by Tinklin et al (2001) is a view that girls and boys display different attitudes and behaviour in school. Girls are seen as "better prepared, more conscientious, cooperative, organised and respectful… boys, on the other hand, are seen as ill-prepared, competitive, disruptive, overconfident and less attentive". The differences in educational attainment and ways that boys and girls engage with school differently are explained in relation to peer-pressure, differences in approach to assessment and curricular tasks, approaches to teaching and learning and differences in perceived or actual post-school opportunities (Tinklin et al 2001).

Exclusions and Additional Support Needs

2.3.9 From primary school onward, boys are more likely than girls to encounter difficulties ( e.g. learning or behavioural difficulties), leading to specialist forms of support being put in place. Figures published in the Gender Audit of Statistics (Breitenbach & Wasoff 2007) show that boys are twice as likely as girls to have a Record of Need ⁹ or an Individualised Educational Programme (boys making up 71% of these pupils in 2004/05).

2.3.10 Boys are also more likely than girls to be excluded from school. As Chart 2.1 shows, the disparity is evident within both primary and secondary school, with boys making up a significant majority of exclusions among primary school pupils and many of the excluded in secondary school although, in secondary school, girls' rates of exclusion increases, notably in S2 and S3, reducing again in S4 and S5.

Chart 2.1: Exclusion rates, by stage and gender, 2006/07

Source: Exclusions from Schools, 2006/07

2.3.11 Perceived differences in behaviour between girls and boys in schools, that may affect the likelihood of school exclusion or specific forms of learning support being put in place, commonly draw on the nature/nurture debate to explain these phenomena. For example, Riddell et al's (2006) international research review on additional support in schools found different explanations were used. One explanation for boys' propensity to need additional support at school is that boys may have a greater vulnerability to illness and a greater genetic propensity to behavioural difficulties (so drawing on a biological/nature approach). An alternative explanation relates to the growing 'feminization' of the teaching profession, with this seen as playing a part in boys' engagement with education and therefore their behaviour and attainment levels when in school (so drawing more on a social/nurture approach). Both views are in themselves controversial, with questions remaining about whether either can offer a coherent and complete explanation for gender differences within the education setting.

2.3.12 The debate about attainment has recently faced criticism for oversimplifying what are, in practice, far more complex educational experiences and outcomes for boys and girls:

…the attention [to boys' lack of attainment and exclusion] has generally been insensitive to research highlighting the complexities of gendered experience of schooling and its relationship to other forms of social identity. Professional discourses, and the practical strategies arising from them, have often neglected the experience of girls and, in addition, ill-served many boys. (Kane 2006; 561)

2.3.13 Kane (2006) and Tinklin et al (2003) both argue, for example, that education providers should take account of the influences of social class and ethnicity, as well as gender, to successfully engage pupils and ensure that both girls and boys are adequately provided for within the school environment.

Destinations of School Leavers

2.3.14 Looking at the destinations of school leavers, we see that girls are more likely, on leaving school, to enter full-time further or higher education than boys, while boys are more likely to go into training, employment or to be unemployed and seeking employment (see Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1: Destinations of School Leavers by gender, 2006/07

Source: Destination of Leavers from Scottish Schools 2006

2.3.15 The Destination of Leavers from Scottish Schools survey for 2006/07 (Scottish Government 2007d) reports that similar patterns were observed in previous years. The differences between boys and girls has however widened since 2005/06, with the proportion of boys entering employment now 11% higher than the proportion of girls entering employment (a 2% rise since 2005/06), while the proportion of girls entering further or higher education is now over 15% higher than the proportion of boys entering further or higher education (a 1% rise since 2005/06).

2.3.16 In 2004/05, there were 450,435 students enrolled in further education colleges in Scotland, 58% of which were female. Looking at the gender division in further education, there is very little difference in female and male participation rates on full-time courses. However, there are far more women participating in part-time college courses. Of the males enrolled at further education colleges in 2004/05, 77% were participating in higher education courses, compared with 75% of women. Men were also more likely to be participating in vocational courses than women - 13% compared with 11% - while women were more likely to be participating in non-vocational courses - 14% compared with 10% ¹⁰.

2.3.17 Similar trends occur within higher education, with consistently higher rates of participation in higher education by women than by men. As with secondary school, the subjects that men and women take part in within higher education differ considerably. Far more men are participating in courses on: engineering and technology (90%), information technology (77%) and architecture (77%), while women are more commonly found in allied medicines (86%), veterinary studies (73%), social studies (72%) and education (71%) ¹¹.

2.3.18 In order to get more information on the causes of occupational segregation, the next section explores employment patterns within the childcare and education workforce, to gain a better understanding of the possible explanations for the dominance of women within this workforce.

2.4 Early Years and Education Workforce

2.4.1 Looking in detail at the gender divisions within the childcare and education workforce offers an important illustration of the gender divisions that currently exist in the Scottish labour market. This section discusses gender divisions in the workforce in childcare and early years, school education and in further and higher education.

Childcare and Early Years Workforce

2.4.2 Scottish Government statistics (Scottish Government 2007e) on the preschool and childcare workforce show that there were 30,640 people working in pre-school and childcare centres in Scotland in 2005, increasing to 32,800 by 2007. Women represented 98% of the childcare and early years workforce in 2005, and 97% in 2007. The EOC General Formal Investigation into Classroom Assistants in Scotland found that there were 15,000 classroom assistants in Scotland, 98% of whom were women (Equal Opportunities Commission 2007a).

2.4.3 A review of international literature on the childcare workforce (Cunningham-Burley & Kochenderfer 2006) offered two central explanations for the lack of male participation in the childcare workforce:

• The perceived low status of the work ( e.g. poor pay, poor conditions and few opportunities for promotion). In particular, the low pay means that the wage is not sufficient to support a family.
• Working with young children is not seen as an appropriate job for men to do, with suspicion about men who wish to enter an occupation that is perceived as feminine.

2.4.4 Cameron and Moss (2002) suggest that young women enter the childcare workforce because they are familiar with children as a result of having childcare experience before entering work e.g. caring for younger siblings or babysitting. Women generally enter childcare employment as a result of enjoying and perceiving themselves to have the skills required to work with children. Women are also attracted to this occupation as it often suits their domestic circumstances e.g. offering local employment and opportunities to combine employment with their caring responsibilities.

Schools Workforce

2.4.5 Similar trends are evident in the primary school workforce, with figures from 2007 (Scottish Government 2008c) showing that:

• 92% of primary school teachers across all grades are female.
• 83% of primary head teachers are female.
• 90% of deputy head teachers are female.
• 93% of classroom teachers are female.

2.4.6 In secondary schools, the pattern differs. Here, women are the majority in the teaching workforce overall (60%), with 54% principal teachers and 44% deputy head teachers. Men, however, are the majority of head teachers in secondary schools - 74% in 2007.

2.4.7 There is a positive trend emerging within this picture, with the proportion of female head teachers rising from 18% in 2004 to 26% in 2007. Similarly, there has also been a rise in women deputy head teachers - from 39% in 2004 to 44% in 2007. While women are clearly still under-represented in the most senior positions in secondary schools, there does seem to have been a trend of women's participation increasing in recent years.

2.4.8 Corresponding with gender segregation in subject choices taken by school pupils, we also find gender differences in the subjects that women and men teach in secondary schools in Scotland. Men are far more likely to teach technical education (87%) and physics (74%), whereas women make up the majority of teachers in: French (82%), Business Studies (80%), English (72%) and Music (70%). The significant majority of Home Economics teachers in Scotland are female - 98% (1,007 of 1,025 teachers).

2.4.9 Teachers in Scotland 2007 data also show that, while the numbers are small, women make up the majority of teachers in learning support (82%), while also being the majority of teachers offering a range of additional support needs classes. For example, women are 149 of 182 teachers (82%) in learning difficulties classes; and 110 of 154 teachers (71%) in behavioural support classes (Scottish Executive 2008c).

2.4.10 Similar to messages emerging from the childcare workforce literature review (Cunningham-Burley and Kochenderfer 2006), Riddell et al's (2006) research on the teaching workforce in Scotland suggests a number of explanations for the increasingly gender segregated workforce in teaching. Centrally, with gendered subject choices continuing to be played out within the school setting, boys and girls are, at an early age, making choices that will impact on the career options open to them. This offers one explanation for the differences in subjects taught by women and men in secondary schools. Further, where women and men both graduate from science, engineering and technological subjects, more men than women take up higher paid employment in the private sector. Part of the decision-making made by men in opting not to go into teaching is likely to be driven by the growing concern with child protection, with men fearing that they will be treated with suspicion if they pursue a career involving direct contact with children. Riddell et al (2006) also suggest that the feminisation of teaching can act as deterrent to men, with its female image associated with a reduced professional status. The perception of the profession is that it is poorly paid, has a low social status and is unattractive due to discipline problems in schools. However, for women, the holidays and perceived family friendly nature of the work are sufficient pulls to make up for the negatives associated with this profession.

Further and Higher Education Workforce

2.4.11 There is a lack of comprehensive statistical data collected on the further and higher education workforce in Scotland. The evidence that was collected for the Review of Scotland's Colleges: Equalities Issues Report (Scottish Executive 2007c) highlights that the majority of staff who work in colleges work part-time hours, with a large number of the part-time staff also on temporary contracts (see Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2: Staff contracts in Colleges & Schools, 2004/05

Source: Scottish Executive (2007c) Review of Scotland's Colleges: Equalities Issues Report

2.4.12 The majority of staff working in colleges are female (57%) although, as with other parts of the education sector, there is divergence in the roles performed by men and women (Figure 2.3). While there is an almost even split between the number of male and female lecturers/instructors/senior lecturers (51% female, 49% male), the majority of staff in management positions across the college sector are male (58%).

Figure 2.3: Staff gender distribution in Colleges - 2004/05

Source: Scottish Executive (2007c) Review of Scotland's Colleges: Equalities Issues Report

2.4.13 A recent study on gender in higher education in Scotland (Scottish Funding Council 2006) points out that, while the majority of students in Higher Education Institutions ( HEIs) are women, men still outnumber women as academic staff ¹². As Figure 2.4 shows, in 2003/04, about 40% of academic staff in Scottish HEIs were women and 60% were men, although there has been an increase in the number of women working in higher education in recent years.

Figure 2.4: Academic staff, by gender, 1995/96 to 2003/04

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

2.4.14 The gender ratio varies with the type of work done; with women far more likely to be in teaching only (50%) or in research only (47%) rather than in posts involving both teaching and research (30%); this latter group being the tenured/permanent staff within universities.

2.4.15 Gender differences increase significantly when looking at participation in senior positions in universities (Figure 2.5). Women are far less likely to be senior academics: only 14% of professors and 20% of senior lecturers are women. Another way of showing the imbalance is that less than one in 20 of female academic staff are professors, compared with just under one in six male staff.

Figure 2.5: Academic staff, by grade and gender, 2003/04

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

Figure 2.6: Staff by subject area and gender, 2003/04

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

2.4.16 As within secondary schools, there are notable gender inequalities in the subject areas that women and men teach in higher education (Figure 2.6). Men dominate in many subjects, but mostly in engineering, architecture, physical sciences and mathematics, while women are most likely to teach 'subjects allied to medicine' and education.

2.4.17 The gender divide in further and higher education is not quite as significant as within schools, which suggests that some of the explanations for the gender inequality encountered in schools ( e.g. pay, status and child protection concerns) are not as significant in further and higher education. However, there is no substantial debate on this subject so it is not possible to offer a coherent message on the explanations for the gender inequalities that do occur.

2.4.18 Drawing on messages about inequalities in schools, it is likely that the dominance of women and men into specific subject areas is the result of subjects taken at school leading to a specialisation and skills development in a specific subject area that will frame the subjects taught in college/university. However, the fact that more women than men are on teaching or research only (often temporary) contracts requires further investigation.

2.5 Vertical Segregation: 'glass ceilings' and 'sticky floors'

2.5.1 As highlighted above, there is evidence that women continue not to reach management and senior positions in organisations to the same extent as men. There are two issues that are said to affect women's movement between junior and senior positions: the 'glass ceiling' effect and the 'sticky floor' effect. Both will now be explored.

Glass Ceiling

2.5.2 'Glass ceiling' is a term that has been in use in the UK since the 1980s to describe the invisible barriers that women (and other disadvantaged groups) face in reaching the top of their chosen field. It is most commonly used to refer to the barriers encountered in reaching senior positions within organisations (Women & Work Commission 2006), but can also explain the specific difficulties that women in senior positions face when trying to progress in that environment (Equal Opportunities Commission 2007b).

2.5.3 The glass ceiling hypothesis is that there are specific barriers limiting women's participation in senior positions within organisations (so perpetuating vertical occupational segregation). There is certainly evidence that women remain under-represented in the most senior positions (Equal Opportunities Commission 2007b; Equality and Human Rights Commission 2008):

• Women are a minority of MSPs (34%)
• Women are 13% of local authority Chief Executives
• Women are 12% of Judges of the Court of Session
• Women are 10% of senior police officials
• Women are 29% of Further Education Principals
• Women are 21% of Vice Chancellors in Universities

Sticky Floor

2.5.4 The 'sticky floor' hypothesis is that women and other minority groups are 'stuck' in low-skilled, low-paid jobs (often without access to higher paid jobs) due to limited availability of training or promotion prospects. This 'sticky floor' effect is thought to be particularly acute within part-time employment (Women & Work Commission 2006).

2.5.5 While there is little Scottish data on this phenomenon, a UK study by Opportunity Now undertaken in 2002, (Women & Work Commission 2006) highlights significant barriers to women advancing into management positions, due to:

• The need to balance work and family responsibilities.
• Perceived lower committed to employment than men, especially when women have family commitments.
• Stereotyping and preconceptions of women's roles and abilities in employment.
• Stereotyping and preconceptions of non-managers' aspirations for promotion.
• A lack of clear procedures and processes for career progress out of support roles and into management.

2.5.6 Many of these trends were confirmed through a recent Scottish study exploring the barriers to training, recruitment and retention of 'disadvantaged parents' within small and medium enterprises ( SMEs) (McQuaid et al 2008), which found that employers are less inclined to employ parents/women with pre-school age children due to concerns that they will need time off to deal with childcare issues. Opportunities for parents/women with children are further limited by the absence of flexible working arrangements in SMEs to effectively allow employees to combine employment with caring responsibilities (McQuaid et al 2008).

2.5.7 Being able to accurately measure the extent to which a 'glass ceiling' or 'sticky floor' effect is at play in limiting women's movement out of low-paid, lower skilled jobs is not easy. At best, we can speculate that there are various issues that affect women's ability to enter and progress within senior positions in organisations, due in part to the long working hours' culture at very senior levels and lack of opportunities for flexible/part-time working - while the lack of available training and staff development opportunities, combined with a lack of promotion prospects when working part-time, can trap some women in lower paid, lower skilled jobs.

2.6 Conclusions

2.6.1 This chapter has offered illustrations of some important gender inequalities that create and reinforce current patterns of occupational segregation. We can see that gender stereotypes and inequalities occur within a range of settings, potentially affecting children from a young age. Alongside this are strongly held societal norms about the attributes of women as 'natural' carers, while the jobs that are predominantly done by men tend to call on other skills and attributes, leading to entrenched views about the suitability of some jobs as 'natural' for men and other jobs as 'natural' for women.

2.6.2 An important issue that is often left unspoken in debates on gender stereotyping and occupational segregation is that different jobs have different status and therefore different value/pay. Many of the jobs done by women ( e.g. caring, customer services, personal services) rely on performing emotion work as a core element of the task; the lack of any financial reward for these skills is argued to be an important explanation for women's generally poorer pay as compared with men (Guy and Newman 2004). When discussing policy activity and future directions for work to address occupational segregation, it is important, therefore, to bear in mind that different jobs are differently valued, have different status and perceived skill levels.

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