Determinants of Vertical and Horizontal Gender Segregation in the Workplace in Poland

The aim of this article is to analyse factors influencing the level of horizontal and vertical occupational segregation in Poland. The results of qualitative and quantitative surveys conducted among Polish employees are investigated. The data are taken from a project on employee perspectives on corporate social responsibility. Ninety individual depth interviews (IDI) with participants from 22 sectors of the economy and 1000 computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) on a representative sample of Polish employees were carried out. A number of variables associated with respondents’ socio-demographic status, the characteristics of respondents’ organisations, and internalised values and norms, were analysed. The findings suggest that the vast majority of the observed examples of discrimination originate from the cultural values and norms of Polish society, which decision-makers and employees have internalised in the early stages of the socialisation process.