Work and Occupations current issue

Work Without End?: Scheduling Flexibility and Work-to-Family Conflict Among Stockbrokers

Blair-Loy, M. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST

The common finding in the work–family literature that workplace scheduling flexibility reduces work-to-family conflict may not be generalizable to service occupations with intense client demands. This qualitative analysis of stockbrokers finds that brokers in firms granting scheduling flexibility experience more work-to-family conflict than those in the firm with scheduling rigidity. Although brokers in the latter firm lose autonomy from their employer (and earning potential), bureaucratic rigidity buffers them from client pressures that intrude on family life. This finding should be tested in other occupations requiring extensive client interactions in a 24-hour economy.

Stalled Progress?: Gender Segregation and Wage Inequality Among Managers, 1980-2000

Cohen, P. N., Huffman, M. L., Knauer, S. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST

Trends toward gender equality largely stalled in the 1990s, but the progress of women in management was mixed. Given the importance of managers as actors in the reproduction of inequality, and managerial positions as rewards in their own right, this study investigates the relative status of women in management over the past two decades, using U.S. Decennial Census data from 1980 to 2000. The authors find that women’s entry into management occupations slowed markedly in the 1990s. Furthermore, after decreasing in the 1980s, gender segregation among managers rebounded sharply upward in the 1990s. However, greater segregation coincided with a decreasing gender earnings gap, which largely resulted from narrowing gaps within integrated or male-dominated managerial occupations. Finally, there remains a substantial earnings penalty for managers who work in female-dominated occupations.

Gender Inequality in Job Authority: A Cross-National Comparison of 26 Countries

Yaish, M., Stier, H. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST

This article argues that cross-national diversity in women’s concentration in the public sector explains a substantial part of the cross-national variation in the gender gap in job authority. Using data on individuals in 26 countries represented in the 2005 International Social Survey Program module on Work Orientation (supplemented by societal-level information), this study supports this argument. The authors find that in countries with high levels of women’s concentration in the public sector, the gender gap in job authority is wider than in countries with lower levels of public sector feminization. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of state interventions in gender inequalities.

Does Unauthorized Status Reduce Exposure to Pesticides?: Evidence From the National Agricultural Workers Survey

Kandel, W. A., Donato, K. M. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST

Ample scholarship suggests that unauthorized immigrants are more likely to face occupational hazards because their lack of legal status makes them more vulnerable to workplace abuse. Despite much research documenting how legal status affects wages, employment, and job stability, few studies have empirically analyzed impacts of legal status on the employment conditions of hired farmworkers. In this article we examine whether unauthorized farmworkers are more likely to handle pesticides and receive pesticide training. We use the National Agricultural Workers Survey, a data set that distinguishes between unauthorized, authorized, and citizen workers. Results from descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses suggest, contrary to expectation, that unauthorized legal status is associated with a reduced likelihood of handling pesticides or receiving training for pesticides. This finding is bolstered by results for control variables associated with unauthorized status, such as age and U.S. agricultural employment experience. Taken together, the results are consistent with labor market segmentation theory that suggests jobs encompassing occupational hazards are allocated to or held by more experienced workers who are better compensated for the risks they undertake.

Entrepreneurship as Economic Detour?: Client Segregation by Race and Class and the Black-White Earnings Gap Among Physicians

Kornrich, S. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST

Since the Civil Rights Movement, greater numbers of African Americans have moved into professional work but continue to have lower earnings than their White counterparts. One possible explanation for this difference is that Black professionals have lower earnings because they serve larger percentages of Blacks in their practices. However, little research has documented this hypothesized effect, particularly while controlling for specialization and other important earnings-relevant characteristics. Additionally, little research has focused on why this effect occurs: Black clients may be less able to pay for costly services, or organizations may devalue work done by professionals when they serve Black clients. This article uses data on the earnings of Black and White doctors to test whether and how the proportion of Black patients influences earnings. It is found that the proportion of Black patients is significantly associated with lower earnings for entrepreneurial Black doctors, higher earnings for entrepreneurial White doctors, and has no association with the earnings of either Black or White doctors who work in nonentrepreneurial settings. Supplementary analysis shows that controlling for doctors’ reliance on Medicare and Medicaid revenues reduces the associations between patients’ racial composition and earnings to zero for both Black and White physicians. These findings suggest that there is little bias in organizational pay-setting practices against positions that serve larger numbers of Black clients. Instead, disadvantage results from Black patients’ greater reliance on lower paying Medicare and Medicaid insurances and client segregation on the basis of race and class among physicians.

Book review: Textures of Struggle: The Emergence of Resistance Among Garment Workers in Thailand

Chaudhuri, S. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST

Book review: Never Good Enough: Health Care Workers and the False Promise of Job Training

Cappelli, P. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST

Book review: Redirections in the Study of Expert Labour: Established Professions and New Expert Occupations

Sandefur, R. L. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST

Book review: Equity, Diversity, and Canadian Labour

Cranford, C. J. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:19:53 PST