Psychological Sex Differences Strongly Predict Occupational Segregation, Study Finds

Sex differences in psychological traits, particularly interests, account for a substantial share of occupational sex segregation, according to a cross-sectional study published in Scientific Reports. Researchers led by Joakim K. E. Frostegård and Agneta Herlitz examined 429 occupations and found that estimates of each occupation's sex composition, derived from population trait differences and occupational requirement profiles, were highly predictive of actual population sex ratios across the labor market. The study drew on 2,576 participants aged 35 to 45, who completed online tests and questionnaires measuring six traits: spatial ability, verbal ability, agreeableness, emotional stability, interest in people, and interest in things.

Students rated the requirements of each occupation. For every occupation, the researchers then estimated the sex composition of the population whose traits matched those requirements, combining the measured sex differences in traits with the occupational requirement profiles. The combined model assessing interests and cognition together explained the most variance in actual occupational sex ratios, with an R² of .49.

The interest model alone followed closely at R² = .46, while the cognition model explained considerably less, at R² = .18. Among the individual traits, sex differences in interest in things were by far the most predictive of occupational sex segregation, with an R² of .42, exceeding the contribution of any cognitive or personality measure examined. One asymmetry stood out in the results: sex differences in cognition were more predictive of occupations with high proportions of men than of occupations with high proportions of women.

The authors note that given evidence of lifespan trait stability, these findings suggest that cognition and interests matter in occupational choice, and that sex differences in these traits consequently contribute substantially to occupational sex segregation. The participant sample was limited to adults aged 35 to 45, and occupational requirements were rated by students rather than directly observed, so the estimates reflect modeled relationships between trait profiles and occupational sex composition rather than measured individual career decisions. The strength of the predictions, especially for interests, nevertheless indicates that psychological sex differences are strongly linked to the uneven sex distribution observed across hundreds of occupations in this dataset.

Subject of Research: Psychological sex differences and their strong prediction of occupational sex segregation across 429 occupations

Article Title: Occupational sex segregation is strongly predicted by psychological sex differences

Article References: Frostegård, J. K. E., Persson, B. N., Sorjonen, K., Hedebrant, K., Lundqvist, M., & Herlitz, A. (2026). Occupational sex segregation is strongly predicted by psychological sex differences. Scientific Reports, 16(1), Article 33620. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-75691-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-75691-x

Keywords: occupational sex segregation, psychological sex differences, interest in things, interest in people, spatial ability, verbal ability, cross-sectional study, Scientific Reports, occupational choice, cognition, Occupational, segregation