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Author: Lu, Yao
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Lu, Yao
Li, Xiaoguang
Gender Gap in Education-Occupation Mismatch among Highly-Educated Workers
Presented: Atlanta GA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2022
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): College Graduates; Gender Differences; Occupational Choice; Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP); Women

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Despite women's tremendous progress in higher education, gender labor market inequality has largely persisted. The present study seeks to understand these paradoxical trends by investigating a previously underexplored source of gender inequality among highly-educated workers - how educational credentials translate into labor market positions. We operationalize this translational process by analyzing education-occupation mismatch. Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (1996-2008) and the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979, we find that female college graduates were disproportionately channeled into mismatched occupational positions either below their educational level (vertical mismatch) or outside of their field of study and less lucrative (horizontal undermatch); but women were less likely to secure more lucrative, out-of-field positions (horizontal overmatch) than men. Women's higher risks of mismatch were largely driven by married women and mothers. Holding an advanced degree or a STEM degree did little to alleviate the gender gap in mismatch.
Bibliography Citation
Lu, Yao and Xiaoguang Li. "Gender Gap in Education-Occupation Mismatch among Highly-Educated Workers." Presented: Atlanta GA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2022.