Focusing on the status of highly educated women in the workplace, this book examines how a particular demographic and workforce group can help to close the gender pay gap worldwide. Despite contributing to the substantial fall of differentials between men and women on a global scale, the demographic of highly educated women is rarely explored in terms of its impact on gender equality. Drawing on both macro- and micro-level perspectives, this book analyses the theory behind gender segregation and initiatives for women's inclusion, as well as offering empirical accounts of women's experiences in the workplace. The authors have written a timely and valuable book that will appeal to both researchers of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, but also policy-makers and practitioners involved in HR.

Nina Poloski Voki? is Professor of Management and HRM in the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. She is also a Guest Professor at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria, and has written and edited a number of books, chapters and journal articles.

Alka Obadi? is Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and Visiting Professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Teaching and researching macroeconomics, the Croatian economy, employment policies, clusters and competitiveness, Alka is co-author of a number of university textbooks, monographs and journal articles.

Dubravka Sin?i? ?ori? is Professor of Marketing, Marketing Management and Business-to-Business Marketing in the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. She has co-authored 3 textbooks and over 50 articles and papers.

1;Foreword;5 2;Acknowledgements;8 3;Contents;9 4;List of Figures;14 5;List of Tables;16 6;Chapter 1: Introduction;19 6.1;References;22 7;Chapter 2: Gender Inequality: General Areas of Gender Segregation;24 7.1;2.1 Introduction;24 7.2;2.2 Essentialist Gender Segregation;25 7.2.1;2.2.1 Biological and Psychological Differences between Genders;25 7.2.2;2.2.2 Supply-Side Gender Essentialism;26 7.2.3;2.2.3 Gender Role Socialisation;27 7.2.4;2.2.4 Demand-Side Gender Essentialism;29 7.2.5;2.2.5 The Asymmetric Change in the Gender-Essentialist System;29 7.2.6;2.2.6 Care Burden-The Key Factor Explaining Gender-Essentialist Segregation;30 7.3;2.3 Educational Gender Segregation;31 7.3.1;2.3.1 Educational Attainment of Women;31 7.3.2;2.3.2 Female Education Fields;33 7.3.3;2.3.3 Training and Development Investments in Women;34 7.4;2.4 Employment Gender Segregation;35 7.4.1;2.4.1 Traditional Gendered Division of Labour;35 7.4.2;2.4.2 Specific Characteristics of Women's Employment;37 7.5;2.5 Occupational (Horizontal) Gender Segregation;38 7.5.1;2.5.1 'Background' of Occupational Gender Segregation;38 7.5.2;2.5.2 Female Occupational Profile;39 7.5.3;2.5.3 Women's Potential According to the Tournament and Queuing Occupational Theory;40 7.5.4;2.5.4 Women-Friendly Jobs;41 7.6;2.6 Hierarchical (Vertical) Gender Segregation;41 7.6.1;2.6.1 The Background of Hierarchical Gender Segregation;41 7.6.2;2.6.2 The Presence of Gendered Hierarchies in Organisations;42 7.6.3;2.6.3 Women in 'Executive Suits';43 7.7;2.7 Gender Pay Segregation;44 7.7.1;2.7.1 The Origin of the Gender Pay Gap;44 7.7.2;2.7.2 The Size of the Gender Pay Gap;45 7.7.3;2.7.3 Women and Low-Paying Jobs and Industries;46 7.7.4;2.7.4 Pay Differentials between 'Male' and 'Female' Jobs;47 7.8;References;48 8;Chapter 3: Gender Inequality: Specific Areas of Gender Segregation;54 8.1;3.1 Introduction;54 8.2;3.2 Gender Segregation in Politics;55 8.2.1;3.2.1 The Presence of Women in Politics;55 8.2.2;3.2.2 Gender Quotas in Politics;57 8.2.3;3.2.3 Interests of Female Politicians;58 8.3;3.3 Gender Segregation in Entrepreneurship;58 8.3.1;3.3.1 The Status, Characteristics and Benefits of Female Entrepreneurship;58 8.3.2;3.3.2 Obstacles to Female Entrepreneurship and Ways of Overcoming Them;59 8.4;3.4 Gender Segregation in STEM;60 8.4.1;3.4.1 The Absence of Female Representation in STEM Education;60 8.4.2;3.4.2 The Absence of Women from STEM Careers;63 8.4.3;3.4.3 Encouraging Girls and Women to Choose STEM;64 8.5;3.5 Gender Segregation in Communist and Post-communist Economies;70 8.5.1;3.5.1 Women's Status in Communist Countries;70 8.5.2;3.5.2 A New Reality for Women in Post-communist Countries;72 8.6;References;73 9;Chapter 4: The Consequences of Gender Segregation in the Contemporary Work Environment: Barriers to Women's Employment, Development and Advancement;78 9.1;4.1 Introduction;79 9.2;4.2 Social Obstacles to Women's Career Development;79 9.3;4.3 Organisational Obstacles to Women's Career Development;81 9.4;4.4 Personal Obstacles to Women's Career Development;85 9.5;References;89 10;Chapter 5: Gender Equality Initiatives and Their Benefits;91 10.1;5.1 Introduction;92 10.2;5.2 Inclusion Initiatives for Women;92 10.2.1;5.2.1 Five Groups of Inclusion Initiatives for Women;92 10.2.2;5.2.2 Society-Level Inclusion Initiatives for Women;94 10.2.3;5.2.3 State-Level Inclusion Initiatives for Women;94 10.2.4;5.2.4 Organisational-Level Inclusion Initiatives for Women;100 10.2.5;5.2.5 Household-Level Inclusion Initiatives for Women;108 10.2.6;5.2.6 Individual-Level Inclusion Initiatives for Women;109 10.3;5.3 The Benefits of Women's Inclusion;110 10.3.1;5.3.1 Social and Macroeconomic Benefits of Women's Inclusion;110 10.3.2;5.3.2 Microeconomic Benefits of Women's Inclusion;113 10.4;References;118 11;Chapter 6: Previous Findings about the (In)Equality of Highly Educated Women;121 11.1;6.1 Introduction;121 11.2;6.2 Essentialist Segregation of Highly Educated Women;123 11.3;6.3 Educational Segregation of High