Skill
Using software to access and analyze census data
Identifying independent and dependent variables
Employing control variables
Forming testable hypotheses using quantitative data
Learning how to construct, read, and interpret bivariate tables displaying frequencies and percentages
Identifying population trends over time
Using real world data to enhance and support key course concepts
Substance
Examine sex segregation in employment from 1950 to 2000
Examine trends within three specific occupations of your choosing
For either doctors or lawyers, investigate gender and race differences on earnings and see if these differences change when we control for age
This activity is used in a Gender and Sex Roles class for undergraduate students. This activity explores gender and earnings differences in the United States
As we have studied, the percentage of women in the labor force has increased in recent decades. Contemporary women have a wider range of choices about what careers to pursue. However, to a considerable extent, men and women tend to have different kinds of jobs. For this exercise, we will: 1) examine sex segregation in employment from 1950 to 2000. 2) examine trends within three specific occupations of your choosing, and 3) for either doctors or lawyers, investigate gender and race differences in earnings and see if these differences change when we control for age.
This activity uses two customized data sets; one made from combining census information from 1950-2000 and one from the 2000 Census. It guides students through data manipulation using WebCHIP software found at DataCounts!. To open WebCHIP with the dataset for the activity, please see instructions and links in the exercise documents under teaching materials. For more information on how to use WebCHIP, see the How To section on DataCounts!
This exercise is based on a module developed by Tim Thornton, SUNY-Brockport.