Computer Chips and Paper Clips Technology and Women's Employment, Volume II: Case Studies and Policy Perspectives (1987) / Chapter Skim
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Integrated Circuits/Segregated Labor: Women in Computer-Related Occupations and High-Tech Industries
Integrated Circuits/Segregated Labor: Women in Computer-Related Occupations and High-Tech Industries
Pages 136-182
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From page 136... ...
An earlier version of this paper was given at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orlean~, April 25, 1984, and benefited from comments by Russell Rumberger. We also received helpful comments from F`rancine Blau and Philip Kraft on the version presented at the National Academy of Sciences on February 28-March 1, 1985.
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From page 137... ...
The occupations most involved in the computer revolution are engineers, computer scientists/systems analysts, programmers, electronic technicians, computer operators, and data-entry workers; these occupations are expanding both within the computer industry and in other industries as well. In addition, the computer industry provides new opportunities for managers, clerical workers, and production workers.
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From page 138... ...
, we have restricted the analysis to those employed in the computer industry. For the other three groups (computer specialists, computer operators, and data-entry operators)
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From page 139... ...
While computer engineers tend to be employed largely by computer companies, computer specialists are employed in virtually every major industry group. These jobs involve a hierarchy of tasks that used to be done by one person with the title of computer programmer.
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From page 140... ...
By 1980, the Census put the three-digit occupational category of computer scientists/systems analysts in the professional category and the three-digit category of computer programmers in the technical category. The following descriptions attempt to capture the current hierarchy and educational requirements among computer specialists.
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From page 142... ...
Computer operators run the external operation of the computer; ensure that the computer receives the programs and data; and coordinate disks, tapes, and printing connections to the computer, either manually or by supervising automated systems. This occupation ranges from active high-level interactions with the programs to routinized supervision of automated systems.
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From page 143... ...
There are also, of course, managerial, professional/technical, sales, clerical, and service occupations within the computer industry. These jobs tend to be similar to such jobs in other industries.
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From page 144... ...
, and the proportion of women grew from 23 percent in 1970 to 31 percent in 1980. Women were better represented among engineering and science technicians in the computer industry than among engineers, but were less well represented than among computer specialists.
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From page 145... ...
STROBER AND CAROLYN L ARNOLD TABLE 1 Total and Women's Employment in Computer-Related Occupations, 1970 and 1980 145 Occupation 1970 Percent Number Women 1980 Number Percent Women Total employed in labor force Total employed in computerrelated occupations Engineersa Electr~cal/electronic engineers Computer specialists Computer scientiste/eysteme analysts Computer programmers Engineering and science technicianea Electronic technicians Drafters Computer operators Data-entry operators Production workersa Operatives, fabricators, transporters, and laborers Assemblers Electronic assemblers Data-processing repairers— Percent of total employed labor force in computer-related occupations 76,553,599 38 1,497,683 90,626 2 47,004 2 254,537 20 93,200 15 161,337 23 58,292 11 31,454 11 16,963 7 117,222 29 272,570 90 680,299 46 519,221 58 158,191 74 24,137 3 1970 2.0 97,639,355 2,424,240 125,055 67,320 513,863 200,684 313,179 90,990 60,299 16,726 408,475 378,094 872,345 43 5 4 28 22 31 17 15 16 59 92 49 591,091 58 208,284 55,879 35,418 1980 2.5 72 77 88 NOTE: Computer-related occupations are defined in Appendix B
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From page 146... ...
Of all the operators, fabricators, laborers, and transportation workers, a group which includes the semiconductor processors and assemblers and all other lower-level production workers in the computer industry, women represented 58 percent in both 1970 and 1980. Among assemblers, a subset of operatives, women were about 73 percent in 1970 and 1980.
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From page 147... ...
STROBER AND CAROLYN L ARNOLD TABLE 2 Underrepresentation of Women in Con~puter-Related Occupations 147 Index 1970 1980 Occupation Engineers 36 38 Electrical/electronic engineers 36 39 Computer specialists 18 15 Computer scientists/systems analysts 23 21 Computer programmers 15 12 Engineering and science techniciansa 27 26 Electronic technicians 27 28 Drafters 31 27 Computer operators 9 -16 Data-entry operators -52 -49 Production workersa -8 -6 Operatives, fabricators, transporters, and laborers -20 -15 Assemblers -36 -29 Electronic assemblers -- -34 Data-processing repairersb 35 35 NOTE: Data from Table 1.
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From page 148... ...
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From page 149... ...
149 Io o of o en ~ 5 ~ no =£ Cal o of ~~~ A} ~ ~ to ~ ~— To 3 .= ~ 4, so o ~ o ~ o lo.
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From page 150... ...
GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION IN FOUR COMPUTER-RELATED OCCUPATIONS If we look more closely at the four computer-related occupations that are present in all industries computer scientists/systems analysts, computer programmers, and data-entry operators— we can see how women and men in the three largest racial and ethnic groups are represented. Table 4 shows that in the employed labor force as a whole, white men are 50 percent of the workers, white women are 36 percent, black men are 4.8 percent, black women are 4.8 percent, and other racial groups make up 8.4 percent of the workers.
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From page 151... ...
151 ~ sat Do ,~ o te a a' 11 o s" o s" o o s" ._ ~o ._ o oo ~ ·— (:, U]
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From page 152... ...
Men of Spanish origin have a representation among computer operators below their labor force percentage, while the percentage of women of Spanish origin is above their percentage in the labor force. Thus, in this lower-paid computer occupation, white and black women and women of Spanish origin are overrepresented, and white men are underrepresented, while the percentage of black men and men of Spanish origin reflects their percentage in the labor force as a whole.
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From page 153... ...
HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIES This section looks at how women are faring not just in computer-related occupations but in the group of industries known as "high tech, of which the computer industry is one part. We are interested in whether the computer industry and other high-tech industries, because they are growing rapidly and are relatively new, are, therefore, perhaps less gender stereotyped and more hospitable to women than are non-high-tech industries.
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From page 154... ...
Although employment in high-tech industries grew over the 1970-1980 decade from 4.6 million to 6.1 million, these industries employed only about 6.5 percent of all employed workers, about 5 percent of all women workers and about 7.4 percent of men workers. Table 5 presents these employment trends for high-tech industries.
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From page 155... ...
STROBER AND CAROLYN L ARNOLD 155 TABLE 6 Percentage of Men and Women Employed in High-Tech Industries and Non-High-Tech Industries, 1970 and 1980 High-Tech Industries Non-High-Tech Industries Occupation Meri Women Men ~~ Women 1970 Number (thousands)
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From page 156... ...
We used two sources to calculate the gender differential in pay the published census reports, where the only available measure was the mean annual earnings, and the census P.U.S. samples, where we could calculate the median hourly earnings.
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From page 157... ...
In 1980, the uncorrected ratio of women's to men's mean annual earnings was available for the three occupations. For both computer scientists/systems analysts and computer programmers, the ratios were 0.73.
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From page 158... ...
158 h 4= o V ~4 5: r ~ Cal ._ o 3 0 so no, a ~ o ·— Ch _ ~ o ~ t¢ DO ·~ hi.
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From page 159... ...
Earnings Ratio Occupation 1970 1980 1970 1980 1970 1980 Computer scientists/ , systems analysts 105 199 $5.17 $10.19 0.75 0.74 Computer programmers 155 312 4.10 8.12 0.85 0.83 Computer operators 106 456 3.15 6.38 0.63 0.69 NOTE: See Appendix B for the definition of computer-related occupations. For 1980, computer operators included computer equipment operator supervisors.
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From page 160... ...
, despite the fact that in 1980 the mean educational attainment was only 15.75 years for women systems analysts and only 14.88 years for women computer programmers. For women secondary school teachers, the mean educational attainment was 16.43 years in 1980 (according to P.U.S.~.
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From page 161... ...
STROBER AND CAROLYN L ARNOLD TABLE 9 Occupations with Highest Median Weekly Earnings for Women Employed Full Time in Wage and Salary Work, 1981 Annual Averages 161 Occupational Titlea Female Earningsb Operations and systems researchers and analysts Computer systems analysts Lawyers Physicians, dentists, and related practitioners Social scientists Teachers, college and university Postal clerks Engineers Ticket, station and express agents School administrators, elementary and secondary Life and physical scientists Health administrators Public administration officials and administrators, not elsewhere classified Vocational and educational counselors Registered nurses Personnel and labor relations workers Computer programmers Editors and reporters Secondary schoolteachers Librarians $422 420 407 401 391 389 382 371 370 363 357 357 337 336 331 330 329 324 321 318 aOccupations listed are those in which female employment was 50,000 or more in 1981.
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From page 162... ...
sample was too small. The combined effects of the human capital variables and the two dummy variables, GENDER and HTECHIND, on salary were tested in an additive model.8 For computer scientists/systems analysts in 1970, age, gender, education, and industry type explained 20 percent of the variance in the log of hourly earnings (see Table 10~; however, only having a college degree and older age were significantly related to earnings.
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From page 163... ...
STROBER AND CAROLYN L ARNOLD TABLE 10 Earnings Regressions for Computer Scientists/Systems Analysts, Computer Programmers, and Computer Operators, lg7()
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From page 164... ...
0.04 Constant -0.13 2 312.0 Adjusted R .20 Variable Computer Operators Mean (S.D.)
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From page 165... ...
For programmers, being in a high-tech industry did not appear to affect salaries when other variables were held constant. It may be that for both computer programmers and computer scientists/systems analysts, it is employment in the computer industry specifically, rather than in high-tech industries in general, that has a positive effect on salary.
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From page 166... ...
The second row isolates these data for part of the computer industry, based on the census three-digit industry category, Electronic Computing Equipment Manufacturing." The remaining rows show the data in the major two-digit industry groups. Several industry groups (agriculture, forestry, and fishing; mining; construction; personal services; and entertainment and recreation)
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From page 167... ...
Among the major industry groups listed in Table 11, the percentage of women employed ranges from 16.9 percent in mining to 35.6 percent in finance, insurance, and real estate. For all industries, the men's mean annual earnings for computer scientists/systems analysts is $23,405; earnings figures are not available for electronic computing equipment manufacturing.
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From page 168... ...
n.a. equipment manufacturing Mining 3,171 32.5 19,455 0.76 Construction 2,802 34.8 17,275 0.69 Manufacturing 93,010 26.5 19,037 0.75 Transportation, communications, and public utilities 22,537 34.9 19,704 0.78 Wholesale trade 11,477 32.1 18,064 0.67 Retail trade 10,052 33.6 16,400 0.73 Finance, insurance, and real estate 39,749 36.6 16,774 0.77 Business services 63,423 28.0 17,826 0.72 Professional and related services 35,352 34.3 12,353 0.83 Public administration 29,635 35.9 18,868 0.74 Computer Operators All industries Electronic computing equipment manufacturing 7,175 408,475 59.0 314,203 0.65 46.6 n.a.
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From page 169... ...
to 36.6 percent in finance, insurance, and real estate. Men's mean annual earnings are $17,967 for all industries; among major industry groups, they range from a low of $12,353 in professional and related services to a high of $19,704 in transportation, communications, and public utilities.
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From page 170... ...
As in the case of computer scientists/systems analysts and computer programmers, women computer operators are more likely to be employed in end-user industries than in the computer manufacturing industry. Among major industry groups, the percentage of women employed ranged from a low of 42.9 percent in mining to a high of 73.2 in wholesale trade.
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From page 171... ...
3. Among four computer-related occupations found in all industries—computer scientists/systems analysts, computer programmers, computer operators, and data-entry operators the higher the status and pay of the occupation, the more white men were overrepresented, compared with their representation in the labor force as a whole, and the more minority men and women of all racial and ethnic groups were underrepresented.
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From page 172... ...
5. Within the occupations of computer scientists/systems analysts, computer programmers, and computer operators, women's mean annual earnings and women's median hourly earnings were less than those of men.
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From page 173... ...
These theories focus on women's own behavior, on employer discrimination, and on the interactions of labor markets and gender relations in society. However, to devise the various types of policies that are required to change existing patterns of gender segregation and earnings differentials for the computer industry and computer-related occupations reported here, more research on the dynamics of each aspect of gender segregation is needed.
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From page 174... ...
While firms in all industries must remain competitive with similar firms, the computer industry, a new industry with a steady stream of technological breakthroughs, has some unique pressures: to make and increase profits in a competitive nonoligopolistic environment, stay on the technological forefront, and stay ahead of not only young ant! old domestic companies but their Japanese counterparts as well.
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From page 175... ...
Cain, Glen G 1976 The challenge of segmented labor market theories to orthodox theory: a survey.
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From page 176... ...
Monthly Labor Review 106(November)
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From page 177... ...
Census Industry Codes which most closely matched these SIC codes were used to designate high-tech industries in the 1970 and 1980 Census Public Use Sample tapes. The Census Codes each include from one to several SIC industries, and some Riche-designated high-tech SIC industries are grouped with non-high-tech SIC industries, so it is not possible to perfectly match the Riche Group III list using census data.
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From page 178... ...
NONDURABLE MANUFACTURING Industrial and miscellaneous chemicals (281 and 368;192~; plastics, synthetics, and resins (348 and 349;180~; drugs and medicines (357;181~; soaps and cosmetics (358;182~; paints, varnishes, and related products (359;190~; agricultural chemicals (367;191~; not specified chemicals and allied products (1970;369~; petroleum refining (377;200~; miscellaneous petroleum and coal products (1970;378~. BUSINESS AND REPAIR S ERVICES Commercial research, development, and testing labs (729;7303; computer programming or computer and data-processing services (739;740~.
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From page 179... ...
AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, AND FISHERIES Agricultural production, crops; agricultural production, livestock; agricultural services; horticultural services; forestry; fisheries; fishing, hunting, and trapping. MINING Metal mining; coal mining; crude petroleum- and natural gas extractions; nonmetallic mining and quarrying, except fuel.
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From page 180... ...
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Offices of chief executive and legislative bodies and their advisory and interdepartmental committees and commissions; government civil rights and civil service commissions; offices providing support services for government such as accounting, personnel, purchasing and supply; courts; police protection; correctional institutions; fire protection; government legal counsel; public finance; tax and monetary policy; administration of educational programs; public health, social, manpower, and income maintenance programs; veterans' affairs; environmental protection; housing and urban development programs; regulatory agencies; national security; and international agencies.
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From page 181... ...
censuses: Census Occupation Categories Census Occupation Codes 1970 1980 Engineers 006-023 044-059 Electrical/electronic engineer 012 055 Computer specialists 003-005 064,229 Computer scientist/systems analyst 004-005 064 Computer programmers 003 229 Engineers and science technicians 15~162 Elect ric al/elect ronic engineering technicians Drafters 153 152 213-217, 223-225 213 217 Computer operators (includes computer and peripheral equipment operators) 343 308,309 Data-entry operators 345 385 Production workersa (includes crafts, precision production, operatives, transportation, laborers, and farm occupations)
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From page 182... ...
Since few of these workers would be in the computer industry, we do not feel that this affects the results. However, the category of "Operatives, Fabricators, Transportation, and Laborers does differ significantly between the years, and therefore the data presented for 1970 and 1980 are not strictly comparable.
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