Male-Dominated1 Occupations Are Those That Comprise 25% or Fewer Women2
Male-dominated industries and occupations are particularly vulnerable to reinforcing masculine stereotypes that make it even more difficult for women to excel.3
In the United States, only 6.6% of women worked full-time in male-dominated occupations in 2017.4
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Women represented only 38% of non-technical positions in the tech industry, despite holding 57% of all bachelor’s degrees in 2015.5
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Women held only 20% of leadership roles in the tech workforce in 2015.6
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In 2015, women held only 26% of computer and mathematical occupations and just 36% of high-tech occupations.7
Women Face Challenges Working in Male-Dominated Workplace Cultures
Women working in male-dominated industries face a variety of challenges, including:
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Pervasive stereotypes, such as that of the "caring mother"8 or the office housekeeper.9
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The view that women are outsiders and threaten the norm.10
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Work/life demands may delay women’s time to PhD, impacting the number of publications that are so important for promotions in academic science and STEM fields.11
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Fewer mentoring opportunities, which women reported as being important for their success.12
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Sexual harassment.13
Women use various mechanisms to cope with working in male-dominated work environments, such as:
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Distancing themselves from colleagues, especially other women.14
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Accepting masculine cultural norms and acting like “one of the boys,” which exacerbates the problem by contributing to the normalization of this culture.15
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Leaving the industry.16
Sexual Harassment Is More Prevalent in Male-Dominated Industries17
In a 2017 survey, 62% of the women interviewed who work in male-dominated industries in the United States reported that sexual harassment is a problem in their industry, compared to 46% of women working in female-dominated industries.18
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49% of women in male-dominated industries said sexual harassment is a problem in their workplaces, compared to 32% of women whose workplaces had more women than men.19
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28% of women working in male-dominated industries said they had personally experienced sexual harassment, compared to 20% of women in other industries.20
This heightened level of harassment is a problem even before women enter the workforce. One study found that women pursuing male-dominated university majors experience higher levels of harassment than women earning other degrees.21
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About 14% of women with engineering degrees don't enter the labor force.22
There is a Gender Pay Gap in Male-Dominated Industries
Canadian women face a larger gender wage gap in male-dominated industries.23
Occupational segregation is considered to be an important contributing factor to the wage gap in Europe.24
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Despite legislative changes, occupational segregation has not improved in Europe over the past ten years.25
In the United States, many of the best-paying occupations are in male-dominated industries,26 yet women made less than men in median weekly earnings in every male-dominated occupation in 2017.27
One study examining United States Census research from 1950 to 2000 showed that as large numbers of women entered male-dominated fields, the overall pay rate declined.28
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Some jobs, such as database administrators and electrical engineers, have too few women employed to even compare salaries.29
Women of Color Are Underrepresented in Male-Dominated Industries
One study on women of color in science in the United States found that 100% of the 60 scientists interviewed experienced gender bias in the workplace.30
Another study found that Asian women make up 42.6% of all mid-level women in tech, but Black women and Latinas have low representation across all levels:31
| Level | Black Women | Latinas |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Level | 4.6% | 4.1% |
| Mid Level | 2.7% | 3.0% |
| High Level | 1.6% | 0.0% |
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In Silicon Valley tech companies, women of color are 1% or less of all workers.32
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Less than 1% of founders in tech who receive venture capital funding are women of color.33
In a 2016 study, 71% of women of color engineers said they had to "prove themselves repeatedly" at work, versus 59% of white women engineers.34
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61% of women of color engineers said they were held to higher standards versus 51% of white women engineers.35
Canada36
| Occupation | Total Employed—Percent Women |
|---|---|
| Senior managers—construction, transportation, production, and utilities | 14.0% |
| Engineering managers | 14.4% |
| Computer and information systems managers | 23.8% |
| Computer programmers and interactive media developers | 16.5% |
| Manufacturing managers | 19.5% |
| Utilities managers | 19.0% |
| Supervisors, mining, and quarrying | 4.2% |
| Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas and drilling services | 5.3% |
Europe37
| Total Employed—Percent Women by Industry | EU | France | Germany | Italy | Switzerland | UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 29.6% | 30.1% | 27.1% | 26.1% | 29.5% | 25.2% |
| Mining and Quarrying | 14.1% | 10.3% | 13.7% | 19.4% | 0% | 18.4% |
United States38
| Total Employed—Percent Women | All Women | White | Black | Asian | Latina |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | 8.7% | 79.7% | 8.3% | 11.2% | 6.2% |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | 16.2% | 79.3% | 5.6% | 12.7% | 8.7% |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 28.6% | 78.0% | 6.6% | 13.0% | 6.6% |
| Computer Programmers | 21.2% | 65.9% | 7.1% | 25.4% | 5.3% |
| Construction Managers | 7.4% | 90.2% | 4.9% | 2.3% | 12.4% |
Additional Resources
Catalyst, Ask Catalyst Express: How Can STEM Companies Recruit, Promote, and Retain Women?
Catalyst, Women In Energy: Gas, Mining, & Oil.
Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Science and Medicine.
How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Male-Dominated Industries and Occupations (August 23, 2018).
- 1. Some examples of male-dominated industries and occupations include: Computer programmers; Construction; Engineers; Mining; Other Extraction. United States Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, “Nontraditional (Male-Dominated) Occupations, 2014 Annual Averages.”
- 2. United States Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, “Traditional and Nontraditional Occupations.”
- 3. Anika K. Warren, Cascading Gender Biases, Compounding Effects: An Assessment of Talent Management Systems (Catalyst, 2009): p. 6.
- 4. Ariane Hegewisch and Emma Williams-Baron, Fact Sheet: The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation 2017 and by Race and Ethnicity (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2018).
- 5. Allison Scott, Freada Kapor Klein, Frieda McAlear, Alexis Martin, and Sonia Koshy, The Leaky Tech Pipeline: A Comprehensive Framework for Understanding and Addressing the Lack of Diversity Across the Tech Ecosystem, (Kapor Center, February 2018).
- 6. Allison Scott, Freada Kapor Klein, Frieda McAlear, Alexis Martin, and Sonia Koshy, The Leaky Tech Pipeline: A Comprehensive Framework for Understanding and Addressing the Lack of Diversity Across the Tech Ecosystem, (Kapor Center, February 2018).
- 7. Allison Scott, Freada Kapor Klein, Frieda McAlear, Alexis Martin, and Sonia Koshy, The Leaky Tech Pipeline: A Comprehensive Framework for Understanding and Addressing the Lack of Diversity Across the Tech Ecosystem, (Kapor Center, February 2018).
- 8. Dilshani Sarathchandra, Kristin Haltinner, Nicole Lichtenberg, and Hailee Tracy, “‘It’s Broader Than Just My Work Here’: Gender Variations in Accounts of Success Among Engineers in U.S. Academia,” Social Sciences, vol. 7 (February 2018).
- 9. Joan C. Williams, Su Li, Roberta Rincon, and Peter Finn, Climate Control: Gender and Racial Bias in Engineering? (Society of Women Engineers, October 2016).
- 10. Philip Cohen, “The Problem With Mostly Male (and Mostly Female) Workplaces," The Atlantic, March 20, 2013.
- 11. Dilshani Sarathchandra, Kristin Haltinner, Nicole Lichtenberg, and Hailee Tracy, “‘It’s Broader Than Just My Work Here’: Gender Variations in Accounts of Success Among Engineers in U.S. Academia,” Social Sciences, vol. 7 (February 2018).
- 12. Dilshani Sarathchandra, Kristin Haltinner, Nicole Lichtenberg, and Hailee Tracy, “‘It’s Broader Than Just My Work Here’: Gender Variations in Accounts of Success Among Engineers in U.S. Academia,” Social Sciences, vol. 7 (February 2018); Joan C. Williams, Su Li, Roberta Rincon and Peter Finn, Climate Control: Gender and Racial Bias in Engineering? (Society of Women Engineers, October 2016).
- 13. Lauren P. Daley, Dnika J. Travis, and Emily S. Shaffer, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: How Companies Can Prepare, Prevent, Respond, and Transform Their Culture (Catalyst, 2018).
- 14. Dilshani Sarathchandra, Kristin Haltinner, Nicole Lichtenberg, and Hailee Tracy, “‘It’s Broader Than Just My Work Here’: Gender Variations in Accounts of Success Among Engineers in U.S. Academia,” Social Sciences, vol. 7 (February 2018).
- 15. Dilshani Sarathchandra, Kristin Haltinner, Nicole Lichtenberg, and Hailee Tracy, “‘It’s Broader Than Just My Work Here’: Gender Variations in Accounts of Success Among Engineers in U.S. Academia,” Social Sciences, vol. 7 (February 2018).
- 16. Dilshani Sarathchandra, Kristin Haltinner, Nicole Lichtenberg, and Hailee Tracy, “‘It’s Broader Than Just My Work Here’: Gender Variations in Accounts of Success Among Engineers in U.S. Academia,” Social Sciences, vol. 7 (February 2018); Brooke E. Dresden, Alexander Y. Dresden, Robert D. Ridge, and Niwako Yamawaki, “No Girls Allowed: Women in Male-Dominated Majors Experience Increased Gender Harassment and Bias,” Psychological Reports, vol. 121 (September 2017).
- 17. Heather McLaughlin, Christopher Uggen, and Amy Blackstone, “The Economic and Career Effects of Sexual Harassment on Working Women,” Gender and Society, vol. 31 (June 2017).
- 18. Pew Research Center, “Majority of Women in Male-Dominated Workplaces Say Sexual Harassment is a Problem in Their Industry,” Fact Tank, March 7, 2018.
- 19. Pew Research Center, “Majority of Women in Male-Dominated Workplaces Say Sexual Harassment is a Problem in Their Industry,” Fact Tank, March 7, 2018.
- 20. Pew Research Center, “Majority of Women in Male-Dominated Workplaces Say Sexual Harassment is a Problem in Their Industry,” Fact Tank, March 7, 2018.
- 21. Brooke E. Dresden, Alexander Y. Dresden, Robert D. Ridge, and Niwako Yamawaki, “No Girls Allowed: Women in Male-Dominated Majors Experience Increased Gender Harassment and Bias,” Psychological Reports, vol. 121 (September 2017).
- 22. Brooke E. Dresden, Alexander Y. Dresden, Robert D. Ridge, and Niwako Yamawaki, “No Girls Allowed: Women in Male-Dominated Majors Experience Increased Gender Harassment and Bias,” Psychological Reports, vol. 121 (September 2017).
- 23. Andres Arcila, Ana Ferrer, and Tammy Schirle, Occupational Segregation, Skills, and the Gender Wage Gap (Gender Wage Gap Grant Program, Ontario Pay Equity Commission, March 2017).
- 24. European Institute for Gender Equality, “Gender Equality Index 2017: Measuring Gender Equality in the European Union 2005-2015,” (2017).
- 25. European Institute for Gender Equality, “Gender Equality Index 2017: Measuring Gender Equality in the European Union 2005-2015,” (2017).
- 26. Ariane Hegewisch and Emma Williams-Baron, Fact Sheet: The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation 2017 and by Race and Ethnicity (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2018).
- 27. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, “Table 39: Median Weekly Earnings of Full-Time Wage and Salary Workers by Detailed Occupation and Sex,” Household Data Annual Averages 2017 (2018).
- 28. Asaf Levanon, Paula England, and Paul Allison, “Occupational Feminization and Pay: Assessing Causal Dynamics Using 1950–2000 U.S. Census Data,” Social Forces, vol. 88 (December 2009): p. 865-892; Claire Cain Miller, “As Women Take Over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay Drops,” The New York Times, March 18, 2016.
- 29. Emmie Martin, “Here’s What Men and Women Earn in the Highest-Paying Jobs in America,” CNBC (April 10, 2018).
- 30. Joan C. Williams, Katherine W. Phillips, and Erika V. Hall, Double Jeopardy? Gender Bias Against Women of Color in Science (Work Life Law Center, January 2015).
- 31. Caroline Simard, Andrea Davies Henderson, Shannon K. Gilmartin, Londa Schiebinger, and Telle Whitney, Climbing the Technical Ladder: Obstacles and Solutions for Mid-Level Women in Technology (Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University and Anita Borg Institute, December 2013).
- 32. Allison Scott, Freada Kapor Klein, Frieda McAlear, Alexis Martin, and Sonia Koshy, The Leaky Tech Pipeline: A Comprehensive Framework for Understanding and Addressing the Lack of Diversity Across the Tech Ecosystem (Kapor Center, February 2018).
- 33. Allison Scott, Freada Kapor Klein, Frieda McAlear, Alexis Martin, and Sonia Koshy, The Leaky Tech Pipeline: A Comprehensive Framework for Understanding and Addressing the Lack of Diversity Across the Tech Ecosystem (Kapor Center, February 2018).
- 34. Joan C. Williams, Su Li, Roberta Rincon and Peter Finn, Climate Control: Gender and Racial Bias in Engineering? (Society of Women Engineers, October 2016).
- 35. Joan C. Williams, Su Li, Roberta Rincon and Peter Finn, Climate Control: Gender and Racial Bias in Engineering? (Society of Women Engineers, October 2016).
- 36. Statistics Canada, “Occupation - National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016 (693A), Class of Worker (5A), Labour Force Status (3), Age (13A) and Sex (3) for the Labour Force Aged 15 Years and Over in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census - 25% Sample Data,” 2016 Census (2018).
- 37. EuroStat, “Employment by Sex, Age and Detailed Economic Activity (From 2008 Onwards, NACE Rev. 2 Two Digit Level) - 1 000 (lfsa_egan22d).”
- 38. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 11. Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity,” Household Data Annual Averages 2017 (2018).
21 Reader Comments
Women are gaining strongholds in all fields and it is not long when the stock market will be dominated by women. Women have rational thinking and they are known to be masters in multitasking. Claw Roofing Calgary respects the ability of women to work in different occupation.
That's a myth according to a McKinsey study women will not achieve parody for at least another hundred years. In fact the numbers are actually going backwards. Corporations are having a hard time finding qualified women to be on boards and that's because they are not grooming women for leadership at all.
Perhaps your misspelling of the word 'parity' as 'parody' is more apt than you know. The lip-service that organizations pay to achieving gender equity is a parody of parity.
Accidentally well put.
Women don't want to do hard physic labour jobs, they avoid it, they will go for every white collar job possible, they want to dress up and push pens in an air conditioned office. Occupational segregation is a result of women steering away from work hard dirty work, not because of some stereotype warding them off, the stereotype forms from the type of rugged individuals that do this type of work. You won't see to many woman working on oil rigs being a Derrickhand because it's dirty and requires physical strength, there is always the odd woman that will be drawn to male oriented jobs but they are an exception not the norm. I say this not to put women down but just as a fact that there are jobs that are not physically suited to women and instinctively they know it and they stay away so the is no point trying to close certain gender gaps.
Way to be supportive, Dan. You are making a generalization about women NOT wanting to get dirty, therefore we refuse to take jobs that entail oil, grease, or grime. So if I were to generalize men by saying they won't work in caregiving positions because it makes them look weak and feminine, is that a fair rebuttal? Why aren't more men nurses, day care providers, hospice workers, and mental health counselors? Generally speaking, men are not sensitive enough to be able to handle the emotional demands that go with that job.
Generalizations about genders is what keeps us from moving forward. If you have the ability and the aptitude, I don't care if you are male or female- just that you can get the job done.
Bri Ontiveros
USAF Retired
You're bang on about why more men aren't caregivers. That type of work would drain me emotionally. Everyone is different of course, so there are absolutely some men that are suited for this occupation, but I'd reckon they are few and far between.
Thank you Bri for standing up for all females!!!! YOU ROCK!!! Women have every right to work where ever they want without discrimination by close minded people, Dan's post kind of bothered me:( Yes, I am female but I don't mind working hard physical labor or getting dirty and not all females avoid those kinds of jobs and honestly most females do a better job on oil rigs or welding careers, so he is totally wrong! Thank you again and you wrote you post very well:)
Gee Dan, stereotype much? It is people like you with those thoughts that make the gender gap so huge and the struggles for women in a male dominated industry even harder. Unless you have lived in my shoes for a day, as a Construction Manager and female, you have no right to even comment.
I agree with you Dan (and I'm a woman). Women need to stop blaming men for the lack of women in these fields. We make our own decisions and we are the ones choosing not to go for these type of careers so I don't understand why women are so accusative towards men when we are the ones choosing a different path.
Ivana,
Please speak for yourself ONLY. I worked as a electrical field worker and I loved it. I am now in the position to bring more women aboard. I hope that you realize that the way women are raised in roles is the root of the issue. This is from the mom who has a football playing, hockey loving eleven year old daughter. I never told her what "her place" was, so she made her own. Check your femininity at your door, not anyone elses.
Respectfully,
Cynthia
Hello, Cynthia. I am a junior in high school and for an English class that I am taking this year, we are doing a project about women in male-dominated jobs. We would like to know more about your experience as a woman working in a force that is dominated by the male gender. If you are interested in helping us with this project, we would love to have an interview over email with you. Please contact me at [email protected]
Women in construction careers including engineering are chronically mistreated by 1 in 20 men today in the workplace. Those particular men will not take an instruction from a female superintendent or manager. If that were the case for a male manager, the employee would be terminated.
Grasping for straws. You hate male privilege except when you are the first saved from a sinking ship or exempt from selective service.
How about you avoid telling women what they want and don't want to do? Plus, even if I wanted to "dress up and push pens in an air conditioned office," I still would be considered "physically" and/or "emotionally" suited because ignorant people like you make up an unfavorable amount of individuals dominating the workforce across the board.
Oh come on, far more men are working in caregiving positions than women in dirty and dangerous jobs. Of course woman dont want to get dirty and have physical limits. Men do want to care, but the general view of woman do care better make men to stay out of those caregiving and teaching positions.
Who is the person who suggests that a 50 percent split is mandatory. No evidence or science backs up this myth. Choice is the key to the data. I chose to work in the industry I work in. I was NOT drawn to it because I am a male. My wife stays at home with the children because she wants to. NOT because I tell her to. In fact it is myself who is compelled to stay in the workforce. I studied as an engineer and I can tell you as fact, that women chose not to do that course. Given there are more women in university than men the suggestion that women are kept out of engineering due to sexism shows just how regressive society has become.
Nailed it.
So the reference for "Occupational Segregation Contributes to Gender Inequality"[5] is a magazine article. Why did I bother reading something on this website?
Hi Jonas
Perhaps this paper from IWPR might be of interest (the research was funded by the Dept. of Labor)?
Occupational Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap: A Job Half Done
https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/wpallimport/files/iwpr-export/publications/C419.pdf
This might interest you: “Women’s work” and the gender pay gap"
from the Economic Policy Institute
http://www.epi.org/publication/womens-work-and-the-gender-pay-gap-how-discrimination-societal-norms-and-other-forces-affect-womens-occupational-choices-and-their-pay/
I have a mother thats an electrician. She has crafted her work better than most men! I personally feel that some women as well as men don't won't to get dirty. Dan, especially most men but in our world you are able to choose what's best for you. Strength isn't just the body it's also the brain & women bring brain power in all we do. I think with an open mind a woman doing a so called "man job" should be looked at as a great collaboration, body(male strength) & brains (female coordination). Much love to the men that welcome women & women thats fearless of taking that zpath :)
This postmodern ideological bullshit has to stop. Women are helped and protected far more than men in every aspect of our society. Including the workplace. They are not perpetual victims.
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