Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Does having more women in an occupation matter for women selecting into occupations over the course of their careers? Do women in male dominated occupations earn more than women in female dominated occupations? We develop and test a dynamic model of gender sorting into occupations in the face of time-varying prejudice using data from the NLSY, DOT and CPS. Specifically, we investigate how the within occupation wage gap changes as the within occupation gender composition changes over time. Preliminary analysis suggests that women who enter highly segregated occupations earn more than women who enter those same occupations when they are less segregated and changes in the wage gap lead changes in gender segregation.