Woman's Work Is Never Done— by Men: A Socio-Economic Model of Sex-Typing in Occupations

Abstract

The division of the Australian labour market into two parts—a male labour market and a female labour market—is documented. This type of dualism in the labour market is inherent in the institutions of the economy and the society. A socio-economic model which generates either male occupations or female occupations, and in which a true mixed sex occupation is the exceptional case, is developed. Integration of the labour market requires a comprehensive and integrated set of policy measures and it is essential to know when an occu pation is about to "switch" from a male occupation to a female occupation if policy measures are to be effective.