STRATIFICATION IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION - SEX, SECTOR, AND SALARY

There is a long-standing debate over the role of human and social capi tal in explaining the gender gap in the earnings of professionals. Exp anding on current research on sex differences in the incomes of male a nd female lawyers, we show how the process of earnings determination v aries by sex and organizational sectors differing in sex composition a nd bureaucratization of decision making. Using data from a random samp le of lawyers, we demonstrate that the effects of human and social cap ital on income vary among males and among females practicing law in pr ivate, corporate and government organizational sectors of the legal pr ofession. We also show that there are sex differences in the effects o f human and social capital on income within these sectors. Together, t hese findings suggest that stratification processes in the legal profe ssion are based on both sex and organizational segmentation.