Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the social determinants of female employment distribution within the Brazilian Service sector in 1950. This study tests the usefulness of human capital, part-time, gender role, dual sector, labor cost buffering, and gendered place theories to explain gender segregation in the Brazilian labor market. Data used for this study comes from the Brazilian Service Census, which is published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The analysis demonstrates that while gendered place theory is an efficient predictor of women's employment distribution, human capital, part-time, gender role, dual sector, and labor cost buffering theories lack consistency when used to elucidate the process of occupational sex-typing within the Brazilian context. Unlike all other theories included in this study, gendered place theory argues that the work environment is an important aspect shaping women's employment opportunities and choices. By emphasizing that the labor market distinguishes between proper and improper places for women, gendered place theory is able to till a gap left by other theories that attempt to explain women's participation in the work force.
Simao, Andrea Branco (1999). The social determinants of female employment in Brazil: an analysis of the service sector in 1950. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1999 -THESIS -S554.