The Intersection of Gender and Education: Educational Expansion and Gender Inequality in a Comparative Perspective

Efrat Herzberg-Druker , University of Wisconsin-Madison
Haya Stier, Tel Aviv University

This research deals with the relationship between educational expansion and gender gaps in entering lucrative occupations in a comparative perspective. In order to do so, we use 2015 EU-LFS and examine the gender gaps in entering lucrative occupations among highly educated men and women. We differentiate between two types of lucrative occupations –"classic" occupations (e.g., engineering, law) and “other” professional and managerial occupations. We employ a two-stage model that allows us to examine the relationship between the predicted odds ratio of women being employed in "classic" and "other" occupations and the change in level of educational attainment at the country level. Results suggest that gender differences in the odds of holding a classic profession declined in countries that experienced more rapid expansion of educational attainment. However, gender differences in odds of being employed in "other" academic occupations are lower in countries that have experienced a rapid growth in higher education.

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 Presented in Session 42. Educational Attainment and Labor Market Outcomes