EQUITY

Middle-skill Jobs and Women’s Earnings
Drawing on the U.S. Department of Labor’s
O*Net database, this report classifies
occupations into four broad skill levels: low-,
middle-, higher-, and high-skill occupations.
The O*Net database assesses occupations
both by formal educational attainment and
on-the-job training and preparation required
for a worker to become competent. 8
■■
Middle-skill: Occupations that require
at least post-secondary certification
but less than a bachelor’s degree, and
moderate to substantial on the jobexperience
and training, including
apprenticeships (for example, nursing
and psychiatric aides, teachers’
assistants, carpenters, or firefighters).
■■
Low-skill: Occupations that require a
high school diploma or less, and little
to moderate experience on the job (for
example waiters/waitresses or security
guards).
■■
Higher-skill: Occupations that require a
bachelor’s degree, and typically some
on-the-job experience (for example
accountants, teachers, computer
programmers).
8 The O*Net database classifies occupation into five broad
Job Zones; see Appendix A for a detailed description. For
the purposes of this report, occupations in Job Zone 1 and
Job Zone 2 that require high school only and limited on
the job training are classified as low-skill. Occupations in
Job Zone 2 that require high school only but considerable
on-the job preparation/apprenticeships are classified
as middle-skill. Occupations in Job Zone 3 that require a
bachelor’s degree have been classified as higher-skill.
■■
High-skill: Occupations that require
postgraduate or professional degrees,
and typically some on the-jobexperience
(for example, librarians,
lawyers, and physicians).
FIGURE
WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY THAN MEN TO WORK IN MIDDLE-SKILL OCCUPATIONS
The Distribution of Women’s and Men’s Employment across Occupations by Broad Skill Levels, 2009–2013
1.3
Women
40%
Men
43%
29%
33%
21%
20%
7%
7%
Low-skill jobs
Middle-skill jobs
Higher-skill jobs
High-skill jobs
Notes: Employment in occupation is five year average 2009-2013.
Sources: IWPR calculations based on IWPR O*Net database (see Appendix A).
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