Studies of occupational sex segregation rely on the sociocultural model to explain why some occupations are numerically dominated by women and others by men. This model argues that occupational sex segregation is driven by norms about gender-appropriate work, which are frequently conceptualized as gender-typed skills: work-related tasks, abilities, and knowledge domains that society views as either feminine or masculine. The sociocultural model thus explains the primary patterns of occupational sex segregation, which conform to these norms: Requirements for feminine (masculine) skills increase with women’s (men’s) representation in the occupation. However, the model does not adequately explain cases of segregation that deviate from these norms or investigate the ways in which feminine and masculine skills co-occur in occupations. The present study fills these gaps by evaluating two previously untested explanations for deviations from the sociocultural model. The findings show that requirements for physical strength (a masculine skill) increase with women’s representation in professional occupations because physical strength skills co-occur with substantially higher requirements for feminine skills that involve helping and caring for others. These results indicate that the sociocultural model, and more generally explanations for how gender norms drive occupational sex segregation, can be improved by examining patterns of gender-typed skill co-occurrence.

职业性别隔离研究依靠社会文化模型来解释为什么一些职业在数量上由女性主导，而另一些职业则由男性主导。该模型认为，职业性别隔离是由关于性别适当工作的规范驱动的，这些规范经常被概念化为性别类型的技能：与工作相关的任务、能力和知识领域，社会将其视为女性或男性。因此，社会文化模型解释了职业性别隔离的主要模式，这些模式符合以下规范： 对女性（男性）技能的要求随着女性（男性）在职业中的代表而增加。然而，该模型没有充分解释偏离这些规范的隔离案例，也没有调查女性和男性技能在职业中同时出现的方式。本研究通过评估两个先前未经检验的对偏离社会文化模型的解释来填补这些空白。研究结果表明，对体力（男性技能）的要求随着女性在专业职业中的代表而增加，因为体力技能与对涉及帮助和照顾他人的女性技能的更高要求同时发生。这些结果表明，社会文化模型，以及对性别规范如何推动职业性别隔离的更一般的解释，可以通过检查性别类型的技能共现模式来改进。研究结果表明，对体力（男性技能）的要求随着女性在专业职业中的代表而增加，因为体力技能与对涉及帮助和照顾他人的女性技能的更高要求同时发生。这些结果表明，社会文化模型，以及对性别规范如何推动职业性别隔离的更一般的解释，可以通过检查性别类型的技能共现模式来改进。研究结果表明，对体力（男性技能）的要求随着女性在专业职业中的代表而增加，因为体力技能与对涉及帮助和照顾他人的女性技能的更高要求同时发生。这些结果表明，社会文化模型，以及对性别规范如何推动职业性别隔离的更一般的解释，可以通过检查性别类型的技能共现模式来改进。