Gender segregation in Turkish manufacturing industry: 1985-1998

This study attempts to quantify and analyze the magnitude of gender segregation in Turkey. Measures of gender segregation by economic activity are obtained for all sectors of the economy for the 1985-1998 period. The results suggest that there is gender segregation by economic activity within the aggregate economy. The manufacturing sector and its sub-sectors —in particular, the three sectors that comprise the highest shares in women’s employment within the industry, namely a) food, beverages and tobacco, b) textile and wearing apparel, and c) chemical, petroleum and plastic products— are also investigated to determine the degree of sectoral gender segregation. Segregation indices by job status are estimated to see if segregation varies by job status. Three different indicators of gender segregation, namely, i) Coefficient of Female Representation (CFR), ii) Dissimilarity Index (DI), and iii) Women and Employment Index (WE), are calculated to study gender composition and segregation in the manufacturing industry. Women are over-represented in the food and textile industries and in non-production activities. Within the two female dominant sectors, food and textiles, we observe segregation by job status. Women are generally employed as unskilled workers to do routine office work. In production-related jobs, women have very low representation at the technical personnel level. In the case of non-production jobs, women are usually employed in standardized jobs and are seldom employed in management.Publisher's Versio