Occupational gender segregation has been at the heart of debates about gender inequality. High levels of segregation have been considered to impose constraints on careers, and generally to be at the root of gender inequalities. This paper provides a detailed review of literature on occupational gender segregation in order to provide explanation from both economic and non-economic arguments of the continuous persistence of segregation in the workplace and how it impacts women’s career advancement. It begins with an overview of the theoretical explanations of occupational gender segregation and what existing research suggests is responsible for the difference between the employment outcomes of men and women. The second section addresses the extent to which the attempt to discern a monocausal explanation for this phenomenon is flawed with the consideration that the phenomena inherent in gender segregation are too complex to be explained by a single argument in all cases. The paper concludes with a summary of policies and measures proposed by the literature to address segregation with a series of key issues and opportunities for women’s workplace advancement.