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Disability and being born an ethnic minority significantly increases men's chances of being employed in feminine roles.

After analyzing more than 125,000 cases of workers in the lowest grade over several years working at a FTSE company, researchers found that men in the lowest grade positions were three times more likely to have a disability than the rest of the workforce. Lowest grade jobs generally encompass clerical, secretarial and customer service roles. The study also revealed that disabled men were also more likely than women to be found in the lowest income bracket.

The latest findings also revealed that ethnic minority men were 50 percent more likely than white males to work part-time and lowest grade jobs. Researchers from the University of Exeter Business School also found that men in the lowest grade positions were 66 percent more likely to be from an ethnic minority. However, women in the same positions were 32 percent less likely to be from an ethnic minority.

Furthermore, white men were nearly twice as likely to be promoted as their ethnic minority counterparts. The study also revealed that men without disabilities were four times more likely to be promoted than disabled men.

"It is an unpalatable yet accepted fact that the lowest paid, lowest status work in the UK is predominantly undertaken by women. However, this is the first time that academics have studied the types of men who undertake this work," lead researcher Professor Carol Woodhams, from the University of Exeter, said in a news release.

"Our data shows that men from disadvantaged groups are much more likely than women to end up in low-level work. We don't know why this is, but one suggestion is that men with labor market 'disadvantages' are perceived to be less 'masculine' in some way. Another explanation could be that women already bear a huge, overriding disadvantage because of their gender alone, which means men may suffer disproportionately when they are disadvantaged in other respects," she added.

"This research is the first time that the impact of labor market disadvantages on men has been quantified. We were surprised by the results that disabled men, and those from an ethnic minority, are more likely to be found in feminized, low status work but more shocked that this effect is worse amongst men than it is in women. This same pattern can also be seen in relation to promotion out of low-level work. Employers really need to have a good look at their workforce and start addressing these inequalities," Woodhams concluded.

The findings are published in the journal Sex Roles.