Job Satisfaction and the Gender Composition of Jobs∗

Using job satisfaction data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I examine whether people who move to predominantly male jobs are fully compensated through their wages for their new jobs’ disamenities. Estimates from the ordered probit models indicate that women are satisfied with their pay in predominantly male jobs, but dislike the job amenities. In contrast, men appreciate both the pay and the amenities of such jobs. Overall, both sexes prefer predominantly male jobs, but this effect is insignificant for women. This result suggests that, for women, most of the wage premium paid in male jobs is a compensating differential.