Stopgappers? The Occupational Trajectories of Men in Female-Dominated Occupations

Abstract

This study examines the determinants of men’s exit from female-dominated occupations. Using census data and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data set, the author analyzes the job history of men employed in the United States between 1979 and 2006. Supporting the theoretical model, evidence indicates a group of stopgappers—men entering female-dominated occupations and leaving soon after their entry, thereby contributing to the perpetuation of segregation in female settings. By identifying the stopgapper occupational trajectory, this article contributes to the development of a comprehensive theory accounting for the way structural inequality is reproduced.