Male and Female Occupations

Occupation
Only Men
Mostly men
Even
Mostly Women
Only Women
Hunting large aquatic fauna
48
0
0
0
0
Smelting of ores
37
0
0
0
0
Metalworking
85
1
0
0
0
Lumbering
135
4
0
0
0
Hunting large land fauna
139
5
0
0
0
Work in Wood
159
3
1
1
0
Fowling
132
4
3
0
0
Mfg. Musical Instruments
83
3
1
0
1
Traping small land fauna
136
12
1
1
0
Boat Building
83
3
3
0
1
Stoneworking
67
0
6
0
0
Work in bone, horn, shell
71
7
2
0
2
Mining and Quarrying
31
1
2
0
1
Bonesetting & other surgery
34
6
4
0
0
Butchering
122
9
4
4
4
Collection of wild honey
39
5
2
0
2
Land clearance
95
34
6
3
1
Fishing
83
45
8
5
2
Tending large animals
54
24
14
3
3
Housebuilding
105
30
14
9
20
Soil Preparation
66
27
14
17
10
Netmaking
42
2
5
1
15
Making rope/cord
62
7
18
5
19
Generation of fire
40
6
16
4
20
Bodily mutilation
36
4
48
6
12
Preparation of skins
39
4
2
5
31
Hunt small land fauna
27
3
9
13
15
Crop planting
27
35
33
26
20
Mfg. Leather products
35
3
2
5
29
Harvesting
10
37
34
26
45
Crop Tending
22
23
24
30
32
Milking
15
2
8
2
21
Basketmaking
37
9
15
18
51
Burden carrying
18
12
46
34
36
Matmaking
30
4
9
5
55
Care of small animals
19
8
14
12
44
Preservation of meat/fish
18
2
3
3
40
Loom weaving
24
0
6
8
50
Gather small aquatic fauna
11
4
1
12
27
Fuel Gathering
25
12
12
23
94
Mfg of clothing
16
4
11
13
78
Prep of drinks
15
3
4
4
65
Potterymaking
14
5
6
6
74
Gather wild plant foods
6
4
18
42
65
Dairy production
4
0
0
0
24
Spinning
7
3
4
5
72
Laundering
5
0
4
8
49
Water fetching
4
4
8
13
131
Cooking
0
2
2
63
117
Prep veg. foods
3
1
4
21
145

Source: Murdock and Provost, 1973, Factors in the Division of Labor by Sex:
A Cross-Cultural Analysis. Ethnology 12(2):203-225

Next: The relationship between gender, power, and occupation

In this study, Murdock and Provost look at fifty occupations across 188 societies chosen to be a representative sample of all the world's cultures. They divide occupations by who is supposed to do them. There are five categories: 1) jobs done only by men, 2) jobs done mostly by men, 3) jobs done by about the same number of men and women, 4) jobs done mostly by women, and finally, 5) jobs that are supposed to only be done by women.

So, to take an example, consider loom weaving. The chart tells us that ethnography shows us records for loom weaving in 88 societies (the sum of the columns). Of these ONLY men may practice loom weaving in 24 societies and ONLY women may practice loom weaving in 50 societies. In 14 societies, it's done by both men and women.

There are almost no jobs that are universally only practiced by either men or women (hunting large aquatic animals and smelting ore are likely exceptions. However, in these cases, the total number of societies recorded is small. If the number were larger, it's likely that more variation would show up).

The chart illustrates two fundamental principles: First, the gendered division of labor is, for all practical purposes, universal in human societies. But, second, which jobs are done by men and which by women are highly variable. In 4/5 of the cases listed here, jobs that can ONLY be done by men in some societies can ONLY be done by women in other societies.