Research project Workplace segregation by gender in Sweden between 2000 and 2020

One important explanation for why men earn more than women in the Swedish labor market is that men and women work in different occupations. To achieve a fully gender-integrated labor market, half of all men or women would have to change occupations. We know much less about gender segregation across workplaces. To what extent do men and women meet in their workplaces? Has the recent decrease in gender segregation across occupations implied that Swedish men and women are also more evenly distributed across workplaces? How much of the gender differences in earnings can be explained by men and women choosing different workplaces?

Our purpose is to map how gender segregation across workplaces has developed from 2001 to 2020. We also examine how gender segregation across workplaces interacts with gender segregation across occupations, and to what extent gender segregation across workplaces can explain gender differences in earnings. The project is based on register data for all individuals of working age. We measure the degree of segregation by comparing individuals' actual exposure to female colleagues with their expected exposure. By studying both the extent and the consequences of gender segregation across workplaces, we contribute with new insights into how the Swedish labor market is structured. Such knowledge is important to better understand the mechanisms behind gender differences in income and to design effective measures for a more gender-integrated labor market.