Working Within Confines: Occupational Segregation By Sex For Three Latin American Countries

This paper assesses the evolution of occupational segregation by sex using comparable data sets for Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay over the 1989-1997 period. We estimate segregation indices using two-digit occupational categories for the entire employed labor force and also for sub-samples with different levels of educational attainment. Using a re-sampling technique, we estimate standard deviations for our point estimates and test for statistically significant changes over time and across schooling levels. Finally we conduct a random hiring experiment to compare actual changes in the Duncan Index to potential changes had new hiring been random with regard to sex.