MALE FLIGHT FROM COMPUTER-WORK - A NEW LOOK AT OCCUPATIONAL RESEGREGATION AND GHETTOIZATION

We develop and test six hypotheses regarding resegregation and ghettoi zation in computer work, a feminizing occupation. We analyze panel dat a from the National Science Foundation's Survey of Natural and Social Scientists and Engineers (SSE) on 6, 162 computer specialists intervie wed in 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1989. The results indicate that while the proportion of computer workers who are women has been increasing, the pattern of men's departures from the field does nor support hypothese s synthesized from the literature on the processes of resegregation or ghettoization. Specifically, in computer work neither declines in rel ative earnings for men nor the entrance of women per se prompts the ex it of male computer workers. We discuss the implications of these find ings for our understanding of resegregation and ghettoization.