Sex Differences in the Determinants of Occupational Status

Abstract

This paper examines the equivalence of occupational status as it is assigned to typically male andfemale occupations. An argument is developed for the conceptualization of occupational status as a function of the nature of the occupational task. A determination is then made of the extent to which these occupational tasks contribute to occupational status and a comparison is made of the size of the contribution for male and female occupations. The findings suggest that the occupational task characteristics predict status scores relatively well and make substantially different contributions to status depending on the sex identification of the occupation. The implications of this findingfor the validity of recent research comparing the male and female status attainment process are discussed.