Tomaskovic-Devey, Donald, Gender and Racial Inequality at Work: The Sources and Consequences of Job Segregation

Abstract

Explores the sources and consequences of race- and sex-based job segregation based on evidence collected in the North Carolina Employment and Health Survey, which included 931 currently employed individuals in 1989. Documents the extent of job segregation and some of its consequences. Explores the processes that lead to a segregated job structure, evaluating the thesis that people choose segregated jobs and explanations focusing on the motivations of employers and coworkers to create segregation. Considers three explanations of the processes that produce racial and gender inequalities--human capital, social closure, and status composition--and weighs their importance in creating inequalities in access to high-quality work and in creating the substantial pay inequalities between whites and blacks and women and men. Presents conclusions concerning the utility of the major theoretical traditions for understanding processes of both segregation and work-place inequality. Discusses implications of the study for organizational and public policy. Tomaskovic-Devey is Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University. Index.