Occupational Sex Segregation in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Marginalized by Race and/or Place

Sangeeta Parashar, University of Maryland

In South Africa, institutionalized apartheid exacerbated inequities in labor force outcomes between the various races and sexes, regionally. However, empirical knowledge of the interplay between these systems of social oppression in determining occupational segregation remains somewhat scant. Using the 2001 Census, I will analyze occupational sex segregation across various racial groups in South Africa. I will build on previous research to study ways in which macro-level factors interact with micro-level characteristics in order to answer the following questions: “does the context beyond the individual matter?” I will first examine the relationship between individual human capital, household characteristics, and contextual factors (local labor markets, demographic composition, and culture) in predicting occupational sex segregation? And more specifically, do these multilevel factors interact differently for Africans, Coloureds, Indian/Asians, and Whites? That is, to what extents do the individual and contextual factors experienced by these four racial groups differentially affect their occupational placement?