Gender

We examine gender concentration and segregation between and within establishments in the British economy, using the 1990 Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. Higher levels of gender concentration are found than are predicted by a gender-neutral random hiring model. There are striking effects upon the wage levels of typical employees. We find that high female concentration, both within occupational groups and within workplaces, depresses wage levels substantially, when other factors known to effect wage levels are controlled for. The effect of gender concentration on wage levels far outweighs the wage premium attributed to trade union bargaining. The findings have important implications for public policy and employers'' practices with respect to equal pay between men and women.