Discuss whether human capital theory can offer a sufficient explanation for gender
inequality in the labour market. Your answer should discuss at least two alternative
explanatory theories.
HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY AND GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE LABOUR
MARKET
Name: George Andreou
Pnumber: P09265342
Tutor: Annie-Marie Greene
Words: 2641
Contents
Section A: Introduction 3
Section B: Inequality, Gender inequality: The Evidence 3
Section C: The Human Capital Theory as an explanation of Gender inequality in the labour
market 4
Section D: Other theories explaining gender inequality 6
Section E: Conclusion 8
References 10
Section A: Introduction
The subject of inequality and discrimination in the labour market is a contentious and
multidimensional one – an on-going debate which has spanned both the industry and
academic space for decades. This essay focuses on a strand of this issue – gender
inequality – and discusses the extent to which Human Capital theory can explain gender
inequality in the labour market. Different dimensions of Human Capital theory are
explored and criticisms of the theory in relation to its explanation of gender inequality in
labour markets are discussed. Further, other theories which partly explain the observed
trends in gender inequality in labour markets (such as socialisation theory, demand-side
discrimination and prejudice and economics of statistics theory) are also discussed. The
limitations of these theories are highlighted.
Given the broad nature of the debate, several subsections are used to highlight and critique
some of the key issues. Section B reviews the concept of inequality/equality and presents
some evidence highlighting the presence of gender inequality in the labour market. The
third section (section C) explores the extent to which the Human Capital theory explains
the incidence of gender inequality. The fourth section (section D) discusses the alternative
explanations to gender inequality. A conclusion is drawn in section E.
Section B: Inequality, Gender inequality: The Evidence
As discussed in Kirton and Greene (2005), the last four decades have seen a significant
rise in the number of women in employment. Statistics presented by the authors suggest
that women constituted 30% of the work force in 1954. This composition has increased by
15 percentage points to 45% today. Nonetheless, the evidence suggests that while there has
been a dramatic increase in the number of women in full time employment, women tend to
be concentrated in particular industry sectors – administrative and secretarial, sales and
customer services and personal services (Kirton and Greene, 2005). Further, as suggested
by Kirton and Greene (2005), women tend to be disproportionately employed in low
paying jobs (including waiting, hairdressing, cleaners, domestics and barbers) and fewer
