Devaluation for whom? Feminization and wages in an economically polarized labor market, 2003–2019.

This article investigates how occupational feminization—the increasing share of female workers in an occupation—relates to wages in the economically polarized U.S. labor market since 2000. Using data from the American Community Survey and the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) from 2003 to 2019, the study finds that feminization is positively associated with wages in high-skilled occupations requiring at least sixteen years of education, challenging the traditional view that feminization leads to wage declines. The analysis further reveals that this positive relationship is stronger in occupations demanding high levels of persuasion skills, a gender-neutral "people skill," while no significant moderation is found for sociability (female-typed) or managerial (male-typed) skills. The findings suggest that labor market polarization and changing gender stereotypes have altered the feminization-wage dynamic, supporting policies that promote gender integration in high-skilled fields, though gender wage inequality persists within and between occupations.