Gender segregation by occupation in the public and the private sector : the case of Spain

Abstract

In many countries, recruiting and promotion procedures in the public sector would appear to leave less room for gender discrimination than in the private sector. Using data for Spain in 1977 and 1992, this paper explores the consequences of these practices for gender segregation in those occupations where there is a private and a public sector of a minimum size. In particular, an additive index based on the entropy concept is used to compare occupational gender segregation in the private versus the public sector. It is found that gender segregation in the private sector is 14% larger than in the public sector in 1977 and 32% larger in 1992. During the 1977-1992 period, gender segregation in the public sector remains basically constant but increases by 15% in the private sector. The additive decomposability property of the index is used to highlight the role of public hiring procedures and other socio-economic factors in differences of gender segregation across occupations.