Occupational Segregation: Young women without a college degree are limited in the types of work they can access.

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As of 2023, young women are highly concentrated in a few job types, including customer service representatives, nursing and home health aides, and first-line supervisors of sales workers. In contrast, the top three occupations for young men without a college degree are driver/sales workers and truck drivers, construction laborers, and freight and material movers.

This disparity in the jobs held by men and women is often referred to as “occupational segregation,” and it is more pronounced among young workers without a bachelor’s degree compared to those with a college education.

When examining the 10 largest occupations for young men and women without a college degree, there are only two in common: a significant number from each group work as retail salespersons and first-line supervisors of sales workers. Otherwise, the largest occupations for non-college young men and women differ.

These workers may share the same workplace but perform different tasks. For instance, in a restaurant, young women without a college degree are more likely to be employed as waitresses, while young men without a degree are more likely to work as chefs or cooks.

There is less gender segregation among the 10 most common occupations for young workers with at least a bachelor’s degree. In this category, large numbers of both men and women are found in four of the top occupations: software developers, managers, accountants and auditors, and elementary and middle school teachers.

For Women’s History Month, a look at gender gains – and gaps – in the U.S.