ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the major effort to draw together the available information within a framework that compares men and women in the health labor force in terms of job function, work setting, autonomy, education, and income. Patterns of sex segregation in the health labor force are evident to the most casual observer, but understanding of the interaction between gender and other characteristics of the occupational hierarchy is less accessible. Closely mirroring traditional roles and domains of influence in society, patterns of gender-based segregation in the health work force assign secondary status to women. To help gain an understanding of this complexity, we have developed two analytical constructs to examine different forms of segregation: the Health Occupations Matrix and the Health Occupations Hierarchy. The traditional division of labor between men and women in the family is mirrored in the health labor force. Irrespective of gender, the health labor force is notorious for its hierarchy of status and power.
