Girls in a man's world and boys in a woman’s world: What impact on wages and training?

Pay and training gaps between women and men have been explained by gender segregation at work, i.e., the tendency for men and women to cluster in different workplaces, occupations, and jobs. Nevertheless, this hypothesis overlooks the nature and the quality of the working activity performed by (possibly segregated) men and women. In addition, the empirical literature provides mixed evidence about gender as a driver of participation in training. An opportunity to explore this question from a novel point of view is provided by the OAC survey conducted by INAPP, the Italian National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policies, in 2004. This dataset provides extensive information on a representative sample of Italian employees, including a question on gender prevalence in one’s job. Available data allow to explore whether men segregated into “female jobs” receive less training or get lower earnings compared to man into “neutral” or “male” jobs. At the same time, it is possible to investigate to what extent women into “male jobs” enjoy a premium in terms of reward and training compared to women in different jobs. Preliminary outcomes suggest three basic facts. First, gender segregation cuts across occupations and workplaces. Second, a negative wage gap affects all groups of women, independently of the nature of the performed job. In the case of men, individuals in female-dominated jobs suffer a significant wage penalty (about 11% compared to men in other types of job). Third, outsiders (i.e., women in male jobs and men in female jobs) enjoy a higher probability of participating in training compared to individuals of the opposite sex in the same type of job. However, male employees always display higher participation in training in non-gendered jobs.