Task Segregation as a Mechanism for Within-Job Inequality: Women and Men of the Transportation Security Administration

Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 20, 2015

33 Pages Posted: 18 Nov 2015

See all articles by Curtis Chan

Curtis Chan

Harvard University

Michel Anteby

Boston University - Department of Organizational Behavior

Date Written: 2015

Abstract

In this article, we examine a case of task segregation — when a group of workers is disproportionately allocated, relative to other groups, to spend more time on specific tasks in a given job — and argue that such segregation is a potential mechanism for generating within-job inequality in the quality of a job. When performing those tasks is undesirable, this allocation has unfavorable implications for that group’s experienced job quality. We articulate the processes by which task segregation can lead to workplace inequality in job quality through an inductive, interview-based case study of airport security-screening workers in a unit of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at a large urban airport. Female workers were disproportionately allocated to the patdown task, the manual screening of travelers for prohibited items. Our findings suggest that this segregation led to overall poorer job quality outcomes for women. Task segregation overexposed female workers to processes of physical exertion, emotional labor, and relational strain, giving rise to work intensity, emotional exhaustion, and lack of coping resources. Task segregation also seemed to disproportionately expose female workers to managerial sanctions for taking recuperative time off and a narrowing of their skill set that may have contributed to worse promotion chances, pay, satisfaction, and turnover rates for women. We conclude with a theoretical model of how task segregation can act as a mechanism for generating within-job inequality in job quality.

Keywords: task segregation, work content, sex segregation, work inequality, stratification, gender, job quality, emotional labor, Transportation Security Administration

JEL Classification: D21, D23, E24, J00, J2, J4, J7, M12, M5

Suggested Citation

Chan, Curtis and Anteby, Michel, Task Segregation as a Mechanism for Within-Job Inequality: Women and Men of the Transportation Security Administration (2015). Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 20, 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2690811

Curtis Chan

Harvard University ( email )

1875 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Michel Anteby (Contact Author)

Boston University - Department of Organizational Behavior ( email )

Boston, MA 02215
United States

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