Gender Segregation in the Worplace Separated by Vertical and Horizontal Hierarchy

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According to the Dictionary of Sociology (1998) gender segregation refers to the unequal distribution between men and women in the work place, sometimes also (and more accurately) called ‘occupational segregation by sex’. There are two forms: ‘vertical segregation’ describes the clustering of men at the top of occupational hierarchies and of women at the bottom; ‘horizontal segregation’ describes the fact that at the same occupational level (that is within occupational classes or even occupations themselves) men and women have different job tasks.

Horizontal and Vertical Segregation

Occupational segregation by gender is at the heart of stereotyped career choices and has shown a stubborn resistance to change in the labour market of the United Kingdom, despite women entering the labor market more highly qualified Clouds Work (2009).

Watson (2008) believes that occupation segregation is a pattern of occupations in which some are predominantly male and others female. Watson (2008) indicates that horizontal segregation is where the workforce of a specific industry or sector is mostly made up of one particular gender. An example of horizontal segregation can be found in construction, where men make up the majority of the industry’s workforce, whereas childcare is almost exclusively a female occupation.

Vertical segregation is where opportunities for career progression within a company or sector for a particular gender are narrowed. Vertical segregation affects women far more than men. For example, women are less likely to work as managers or senior officials than men Watson (2008).

According to Phillips & Taylor (1980) vertical segregation is the, often deemed, inferior work because is women doing it.

Although things are much b...

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...tional obstacles to those faced by male counterparts. One common predicament, identified by the former Equal Opportunities Commission, is the requirement for women leaders to spend extra time and energy not just leading, but ‘proving’ that they can lead. Women leaders are penalized whether they confirm, or contradict a specific stereotype. A female leader can expect to be viewed as less competent when her behaviour is consistent with stereotypical ‘feminine’ behaviour, and as ‘un-feminine’, when her behaviour is inconsistent with stereotypes Ritvo et al (1995).

According to the Institute for Women Policy Research (2010) women are almost half of the workforce. They are the equal, if not main, breadwinner in four out of ten families. They receive more college and graduate degrees than men. Nonetheless, on average, women continue to earn significantly less than men.

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