Substantial research has been conducted proving that occupational
             segregation and wage discrimination still exist in today's society.
             Despite recent gains by women and minorities in the field of employment,
             other factors aside (such as skills, qualifications and education) women
             and minorities still fall behind men when considering pay and occupational
             choices. The consequences of such actions are that women are often
             concentrated in clerical and service jobs which overall result in less pay
             and opportunities for advancement. Blau, Ferber and Winkler (2001) point
             out that even though an almost equivalent number of men and women work in
             professional positions, men are still more likely to be concentrated in
             lucrative professions including law, medicine and engineering, whereas
             women are segregated into lower paying positions including teaching and
             Several different theories lend credence and explanation to
             occupational segregation and wage discrimination forces. Some are more
             supply sided in nature while others depend more on institutionalized
             practices. Human and capital theory for example suggest that women
             generally anticipate "shorter and less continuous work lives than men" and
             are generally paid lower at the outset, thus have lower wage penalties for
             taking time off from work (Blau, Ferber and Winkler, 2001:213). The
             studies that will be most closely examined in this paper include theories
             along this line including neoclassical theory and theories opposing this
             viewpoint including the Institutionalist or Marxist idealisms related to
             NEOCLASSICAL vs. INSTITUTIONALIST/MARXIST THEORIES
             Blau, Ferber and Winkler (2001) suggest that occupational or labor
             discrimination occurs when "two equally qualified individuals are treated
             differently solely on the bases of their gender" (p. 202; Becker, 1971).
             This can occur from a variety of factors, and theorists have disc...