As Mens Jobs Disappear, What Will Happen To Women

As Mens Jobs Disappear, What Will Happen To Women The workforce is still very much segregated by gender which is why its a pretty big absprache that jobs typically occupied by men are disappearing, while theres an increase in demand for positions traditionally held by women.Jed Kolko, the chief economist at Indeed who researched this subject, published an article this past weekdetailing his findings. He reports that 31% of women work in fields that are at least 80% female, and 36% of men work in industries that are at least 80% male but this will gradually change.The labor market continues to shift away from traditionally male jobs toward traditionally female jobs, he writes. The two broad sectors that areprojected to lose jobsover the next decade manufacturing and agriculture are both majority male, while the fastest-growing sector health care is dominated by women.If this is the case, why arent men pursuing more traditionally female jobs? One reason which we find particularl y interesting (read maddening) is because of a little thing called the gender pay gap. The jobs that are in higher demanddont tend to pay as wellas more traditionally mens jobs do. Kolko points out that there are other explanations, too one observer has suggested that menmight not be that good at them while another recently argued that being told to take traditionally female jobs can be perceived as an affront to manly dignity.Kolko says that men who are less educated will be fruchtwein influenced by these patterns, because those with a lower level of education have a higher tendency to work in male-dominated industries. For women, Kolko finds the opposite to be true the more educated a woman is, the more likely she is to work in a female-dominated field.Of course, this is not the trend for every industry. While the specific occupations expected to grow fastest such asoccupational therapy assistants, physical therapy assistants, and nurse practitioners are mostly held by women ... plenty of traditionally male jobs will expand, too, Kolko explains.Among occupations that are at least 60% male, ambulance drivers are expected to have the fastest growth, and another healthcare-related occupation, emergency medical technician, is also on the top-ten list, he writes. Several computer- and finance-related occupations, like personal financial advisor and web developer, are predicted to grow quickly as well. (Of course the gender mix of either male-dominated or female-dominated jobs might change in the future, due to changing job-binnenseeker interest or employer recruiting practices.)And, of course, some jobs traditionally held by women like telephone operators and travel agents will begin to disappear.So what will the workforce look like as this plays out? Kolko says some suggest trying tobring backthe male-dominated jobs that seem to be phasing out, but thats probablyimpossible, he explains even if manufacturing output increased, it would not provide as many or t he saatkorn kinds of jobs as it did in the past thanks to automation and globalization.So, it looks like some men whether they like it or not will find themselves pursuing so called womens jobs. What will this mean for the pay gap? TBD. As Elizabeth King writes onBrit + Co, its possible that traditionally female industries will pay more once men enter them its also possible the current gap will narrow not because women are making more but because men will be making the same (lower) wages as women.Either way, it will be interesting to see how these shifts in the job market play out and we certainly hope that the gradual desegregation of gender in the workforce will lead to more equality all around.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer