Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2018, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (2): 213-241.

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College Major Choice and Gender Difference in Entering Male-Dominated Occupations: Evidence from Beijing College Student Panel Survey

HE Guangye   

  1. Department of Sociology, Nanjing University
  • Online:2018-03-20 Published:2018-03-20
  • Supported by:

    This research was supported by China Post-doctoral Science Foundation (Project No.184529),General Research Fund from Hong Kong Research Grants Council (1660615) and a Post-doc Fellowship Matching Fund(PDF)from the Office of Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies,HKUST.

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Abstract:

The 1990s has witnessed a dramatic expansion in Chinese higher education. Educational gender gap converges over time,and moreover,with respect to college enrollment,young women have even surpassed men nowadays. Horizontal stratification in education becomes far more substantial in understanding gender inequality in China's urban labor market. Drawing the data from Beijing College Student Panel Survey(BCSPS),this research attempts to investigate distribution pattern of college majors between men and women,and how the gender differences in majors have led to the gender differences in entering male-dominated occupations. Results have shown a great gender disparity in college majors. Men are over-represented in the subjects such as,science and engineering,whereas women are concentrated in literature,history and arts. The differences in major choices can largely explain the gender differences in the attainment of first occupation,especially the chances of entering male-dominated occupations. Compared with men,women are less likely to enter male-dominated occupations. However,after controlling for college majors,women's disadvantages are largely decreased. The non-linear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition results further suggest that if men and women have the same major distribution,gender difference in entering male-dominated occupations would decrease by 40%~50%. Thus,gender differences in college major provide one potential explanation for the persisting occupational gender segregation among the highly educated in China's urban labor market.

Key words: gender segregation in college major, male-dominated occupations, horizontal stratification of higher education, labor markets