SEX-DISCRIMINATION AND OCCUPATIONAL SEGREGATION IN THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR-MARKET

This paper explores the implications of the difference between the Occupational distribution for males and females in a joint model determining earnings and occupation. The male/female wage differential is evaluated for a number of broad occupational classifications. This is followed by an evaluation of the role and relative importance of inter-occupational and intra-occupational effects as contributors to the overall male/female wage differential. The main conclusion following from the econometric results is that intra-occupational effects dominate. Thus, policies which attempt to address the gender wage differential by re-allocation of labour across occupations are unlikely to solve the problem.