Stalled Progress? Gender Segregation and Wage Inequality Among Managers, 1980-2000

Trends toward gender equality largely stalled in the 1990s, but the progress of women in management was mixed. Given the importance of managers as actors in the reproduction of inequality, and managerial positions as rewards in their own right, this study investigates the relative status of women in management over the past two decades, using U.S. Decennial Census data from 1980 to 2000. The authors find that women’s entry into management occupations slowed markedly in the 1990s. Furthermore, after decreasing in the 1980s, gender segregation among managers rebounded sharply upward in the 1990s. However, greater segregation coincided with a decreasing gender earnings gap, which largely resulted from narrowing gaps within integrated or male-dominated managerial occupations. Finally, there remains a substantial earnings penalty for managers who work in female-dominated occupations.