Early Labor Market Outcomes of Gender Non-Traditional Baccalaureates: Trends across Three Cohorts

Kimberlee A. Shauman, University of California, Davis

Baccalaureates from gender non-traditional fields – women who earn degrees in traditionally male-dominated fields and males who earn degrees in traditionally female-dominated fields – represent potential momentum toward labor force integration and equity if these graduates transition to employment in their degree field. This analysis measures the extent to which the potential de-segregating momentum such recent graduates represent is realized or dissipated among recent college graduates. Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) data for the 1992-3, 1999-2000, and 2007-8 graduating cohorts are used to measure gender gaps in their employment outcomes, identify the correlates of those gaps and test for change over time in both. The analysis focuses on three outcomes: educational utilization, i.e., employment in a job that is closely related to the graduate’s degree field; salary; and satisfaction with employment. Multivariate analyses test the explanatory power of gender differences in work preferences and values, academic achievement, family status and networks.