The Gendered Path of Least Resistance: First Entry and Exit Behaviors of Public and Nonprofit Employees

ABSTRACT Public and nonprofit organizations exhibit high rates of female employment often attributed to sector structures and social roles. To better understand how individual behaviors dynamically contribute to these distinctive ratios, we deconstruct public and nonprofit employment into gendered patterns of attraction and attachment. Using duration analysis and following a cohort from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, this research finds that women demonstrate a higher attraction to their first public and nonprofit job compared to men, evidenced through a faster rate of entry into this employment. There are no significant gender differences when considering the duration of an individual's first stint in these sectors. Additional investigation finds that these sector‐level patterns, when decomposed to account for gender‐dominant professions, are driven by stronger female attraction to female‐dominated professions while masking higher female turnover from male‐dominated professions. Results inform recruitment and retention strategies for public and nonprofit organizations.