Men in pink? a sociological exploration of the influence of occupational and sociodemographic factors on the presence of men in feminised occupations in Spain

Conventional sociological research on gender occupational segregation has largely focused on examining the barriers women face in accessing male-dominated occupations. This study shifts the focus to men in order to address horizontal segregation in the labour market, that is, the overrepresentation or underrepresentation of gender across occupations according to the nature of tasks and job content. Although feminised occupations (FDOM) tend to be less socially valued and are characterised by more precarious working conditions, men employed in these occupations tend to be rewarded through other means. Paradoxically, they nevertheless remain the group most reluctant to transgress these gender boundaries in the labour market.

This study analyses how working conditions and sociodemographic factors are associated with the presence of men in FDOM and whether these associations remain stable over time. A time-series analysis is conducted combining correlation and bootstrap techniques (Beh and Lombardo, 2024; Romanos and López-Roche, 2023) using quarterly data from the Labour Force Survey (EPA), covering the period from the aftermath of the financial crisis to the disruption caused by COVID-19.