Meaning & use
horizontal segregation
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Meaning
noununcountable
The situation in which men and women (or other groups) work in different types of jobs or industries, rather than different levels of the same job.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it has no plural and is used with a singular verb: 'Horizontal segregation is common in nursing.'
Patterns
- horizontal segregation in something
- horizontal segregation between groups
- reduce horizontal segregation
Horizontal segregation is still strong in many countries: most nurses are women, while most engineers are men.
The report found horizontal segregation across the labor market, with men dominating construction and women dominating care work.
Policies to reduce horizontal segregation often focus on encouraging girls to study science and technology.
Common combinations
- horizontal segregation in the labor market
- Horizontal segregation in the labor market means that men and women tend to work in different sectors.
- high levels of horizontal segregation
- The study revealed high levels of horizontal segregation in part-time work.
- reduce horizontal segregation
- The government aims to reduce horizontal segregation by promoting equal training opportunities.
- occupational horizontal segregation
- Occupational horizontal segregation describes the uneven distribution of groups across job types.
Synonyms and how they differ
- job segregation
- A broader term that can include both horizontal and vertical segregation; horizontal segregation specifically refers to differences in job type, not rank.
- occupational segregation
- Often used interchangeably, but occupational segregation may also cover vertical differences, while horizontal segregation focuses only on the type of work.
Opposites
Word family
- horizontally segregated adjective
- Describes a workplace or industry where groups are separated into different types of jobs.
- vertical segregation noun
- The separation of groups by rank or authority, with one group more likely to hold senior positions.
Commonly confused: horizontal segregation or vertical segregation?
horizontal segregation vs vertical segregation
Vertical segregation is about differences in hierarchy (who is the boss), while horizontal segregation is about differences in the kind of work people do.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'horizontal segregation' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Horizontal segregation refers to the separation of groups into different types of work or industries, not levels of authority (which would be vertical segregation). Option A describes vertical segregation, option C is literal and unrelated, and option D is about age, not gender or group segregation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “horizontal segregation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.