This paper analyzes International Labor Organization data from 2000-2016 to explore what facets of the welfare state have an effect on the occupational segregation by gender of a country's workforce. Eight selected OECD countries have been used in a panel regression to determine these effects, with a special focus on the Nordic countries. Two empirical models were generated based on a review of the literature, though research concerning this specific question within the field of economics has been sparse. The only statistically significant variable found was social expenditure, with a positive correlation to occupational segregation. Contrary to previous suggestions of the literature on this subject, maternity and paternity leave were not significant explanatory variables in this model. The results suggest that occupational segregation is not merely a result of a large public sector, but rather a function of how the public sector spends.
