The effects of college major on work outcomes: Gender differences and change over time, 1960s/1970s–1980s/1990s

Education contributes to gender stratification in the labor market through the types of education that men and women receive. This dissertation examines how college major affects gender differences in work outcomes, and how this relationship has changed over time. Recent analysis of the relationship between major, and occupation and earnings uses a college-educated sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79). To examine the change in major and its effects over time, I utilized the National Longitudinal Study-Original Cohorts, producing two independent cross-sections. I examined the effects of major using OLS regression and decomposition analyses. Men and women continue to be segregated into majors in the 1980s/1990s, particularly in Engineering and Computer Science (“male” fields) and Education and Nursing (“female” fields). Male majors tend to lead to male occupations (and female majors to female occupations). Sex differences in major explain one-quarter to one-third of the sex gap in occupations. Major affects earnings, in that female majors have lower hourly wages (the exception is female Nursing majors). Occupation cannot fully explain the effects of major. Men seem to benefit more from male majors than women. Over time, men and especially women have left Education majors and increased among Business majors. This change in the sex distribution of majors, along with the change in slopes, contributed to about one-third of the narrowing of the sex gap in occupations over time. The change in the sex distribution of majors explained 25% of the shrinking sex gap in pay. It was a larger explanatory factor than the change in returns, which generally benefited men (most notably the increase in returns to Science majors). Occupational aspirations and institutions were examined for their effects on major, occupation, and earnings. The findings demonstrate that college major contributes to gender stratification in the labor market. Major had direct effects on occupation, and in most cases on earnings. This may indicate differences in skills and productivity (human capital approach), and what majors signal to employers. Sex typing of field occurs prior to entry in the labor market and female fields (like female occupations) tend to be devalued