Industrial Segregation and the Gender Distribution of Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits have been neglected as a source of job-induced gender inequality. Among full-time, private sector workers in the United States in 1979, women's health insurance coverage rate was 12 percentage points lower than men's. This article considers three models to explain such gend...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gender & society 1989-09, Vol.3 (3), p.388-404
Main Authors: Perman, Lauri, Stevens, Beth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Employee benefits
Fringe benefits
Gender
Group health insurance
Health Insurance
Industrial unions
Men
Occupational segregation
Private Sector
Retail industries
Service industries
Sex Differences
United States of America
Womens health
Working women
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Summary:Fringe benefits have been neglected as a source of job-induced gender inequality. Among full-time, private sector workers in the United States in 1979, women's health insurance coverage rate was 12 percentage points lower than men's. This article considers three models to explain such gender differences in the receipt of fringe benefits: the direct discrimination model, the occupational segregation model, and the industrial segregation model. Using data from the May 1979 Current Population Survey Supplement, we found the magnitude of the gender gap in health insurance coverage in the United States to be related to industrial differences. We argue that industrial segregation of women workers may be more important than occupational segregation in determining gender differences in work rewards.
ISSN:0891-2432
1552-3977
DOI:10.1177/089124389003003007