Supply-Side Explanations for Occupational Gender Segregation: Adolescents ’ Work Values and Gender-(A)Typical Occupational Aspirations

The study examines supply-side mechanisms of occupational gender segregation, analysing work values and their effects on adolescents ’ gender-(a)typical occupational aspirations. Supply-side theory assumes that women develop higher preferences for a good work/life balance and for social work con-tent in their youth, whereas men develop higher extrinsic work values. This gender typicality in work values is expected to affect aspirations for gender-typical occupations. Following arguments on inter-generational transmission, parental gender role behaviour is also explored as a determinant for the development of gender-(a)typical occupational aspirations. It is argued that this plays a role mainly when family cohesion is high. Analyses of adolescents in the German Socio-Economic Panel Study show no gender-specific differences between work values of a good work/life balance. Furthermore, those work values do not affect preferences for gender-(a)typical occupations. Additionally, although men have higher extrinsic work values than women, these values affect aspirations for male occupa-tions only for women. The strongest explanatory power is for social work values which are more im-portant for women and increase aspirations for female occupations for both genders, in line with supply-side approaches. Parental gender role behaviour partly explains gender-(a)typical occupa-tional aspirations, primarily for male adolescents with a good family climate