On Measures of Gender Occupational Segregation: Statistical and Conceptual Considerations (a Response to Grusky and Levanon)

In a recent article (2005), the authors proposed the first-order approximation (FOA) index for the measurement of gender occupational segregation across detailed occupational categories. The FOA index can remedy the two inherent limitations—sensitivity and singularity—associated with the ratio index and the association index, especially when applied to the measurement of micro-segregation. Grusky and Levanon (this issue), while acknowledging these limitations, view the FOA index as a misguided effort to remedy the shortcomings of the other indexes. When responding to Grusky and Levanon, the authors address two kinds of controversies. The first aims directly at the methodological reasoning put forward by Grusky and Levanon and centers on the statistical properties and statistical assumptions embodied in the various measures. The second revolves around different paradigmatic approaches to the study of occupational segregation and centers on different conceptual views of the gender segregation phenomenon.