Young Men’s Entry and Persistence in Female-Dominated Occupations

Since the 1970s, many male-dominated jobs have contracted while the demand for occupations traditionally held by women has increased. Despite these trends, men have made limited progress in entering female-dominated jobs. In this study, we use the 2004 and 2008 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine whether younger men (ages 18–24) are more likely to enter female-dominated occupations than adults (ages 25–44) and middle-aged men (ages 45–65), as well as whether young men persist in female-dominated occupations once they are employed. We find that younger men are more likely to be in female-dominated occupations, and young men are as likely to stay in a female-dominated occupation as their counterparts in mixed- or male-dominated occupations. Our findings suggest that younger men may be more open to working in female-dominated occupations as compared to older men; once younger men enter female-dominated occupations, they are retained.