Family migration and gender differentials in income -The impact of occupational segregation

Whereas partnered men seem to gain economically from moving to a new place, partnered women seem to loose from it. Common attempts to explain this male dominance include gender differences in bargaining power and traditional gender roles. In this study, I am interested in the importance of the different occupations women and men hold. Female dominated occupations might have a secondary migration status and it has been argued that this is why women do not gain from migration. I test this hypothesis using Swedish population data, 1997-2007, including all individuals who are employed and have at least one common child with their partner. I follow their income development up until 5 years after migration is measured. Preliminary results reveal better income development for moving couples compared to staying couples. There is no individual gain for women, only for men. The woman’s share of the couple income increases faster for moving then for non-moving couples. However, even 5 years after the potential move, women in moving couples contribute to a lower share of the total couple income compared to women in staying couples. Next steps include doing OLS regressions for examining how the pattern changes when adjusting for gender differences in occupational characteristics.