56: Gendered career paths? Horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market

The persistence of the gender pay gap is well documented in the literature. One of its most important drivers is the phenomenon of horizontal gender segregation – i.e., the tendency of women and men to sort themselves into different, gendered occupational areas. The underrepresentation of women in s...

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Main Author: Zwittlinger, Lara
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Edward Elgar Publishing 2026
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Online Access:https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/176548
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author Zwittlinger, Lara
author_browse Zwittlinger, Lara
author_facet Zwittlinger, Lara
author_sort Zwittlinger, Lara
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description The persistence of the gender pay gap is well documented in the literature. One of its most important drivers is the phenomenon of horizontal gender segregation – i.e., the tendency of women and men to sort themselves into different, gendered occupational areas. The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is particularly striking. In countries part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), women account for only 33% of STEM graduates, while making up over 77% of graduates from education, health, and welfare programs (OECD 2023). Beyond upholding the pay gap, the lack of women in STEM has negative outcomes for society at large. As we already face a lack of STEM professionals, mitigating horizontal gender segregation is crucial to meet the labor market demands of this rapidly growing sector. In addition, research has found that reducing gender gaps in STEM careers stimulates economic growth and higher employment rates (EIGE 2017).
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1765482026-05-19T14:27:29Z 56: Gendered career paths? Horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market Zwittlinger, Lara Gender segregation; STEM; HEED; Gender career stereotypes; Horizontal gender inequality JBSF JPA JBSF11 GBC The persistence of the gender pay gap is well documented in the literature. One of its most important drivers is the phenomenon of horizontal gender segregation – i.e., the tendency of women and men to sort themselves into different, gendered occupational areas. The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is particularly striking. In countries part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), women account for only 33% of STEM graduates, while making up over 77% of graduates from education, health, and welfare programs (OECD 2023). Beyond upholding the pay gap, the lack of women in STEM has negative outcomes for society at large. As we already face a lack of STEM professionals, mitigating horizontal gender segregation is crucial to meet the labor market demands of this rapidly growing sector. In addition, research has found that reducing gender gaps in STEM careers stimulates economic growth and higher employment rates (EIGE 2017). Published 2026-05-19T14:27:27Z 2026-05-19T14:27:27Z 2026-04-09 chapter 9781035322619 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/176548 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/elgar-encyclopedia-of-gender-and-politics-9781035322602.html https://www.elgaronline.com/display/book/9781035322619/entry56.xml Edward Elgar Publishing Edward Elgar Publishing 10.4337/9781035322619.00063 10.4337/9781035322619.00063 01ceac28-75b4-492a-8eec-f9b98bc6b28c https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 9781035322619 Edward Elgar Publishing Cheltenham, UK open access
spellingShingle Gender segregation; STEM; HEED; Gender career stereotypes; Horizontal gender inequality
JBSF
JPA
JBSF11
GBC
Zwittlinger, Lara
56: Gendered career paths? Horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market
title 56: Gendered career paths? Horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market
title_full 56: Gendered career paths? Horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market
title_fullStr 56: Gendered career paths? Horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market
title_full_unstemmed 56: Gendered career paths? Horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market
title_short 56: Gendered career paths? Horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market
title_sort 56 gendered career paths horizontal gender segregation in education and the labor market
topic Gender segregation; STEM; HEED; Gender career stereotypes; Horizontal gender inequality
JBSF
JPA
JBSF11
GBC
topic_facet Gender segregation; STEM; HEED; Gender career stereotypes; Horizontal gender inequality
JBSF
JPA
JBSF11
GBC
url https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/176548
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