This study uses affect control theory (ACT) to develop a structural approach to examine the gendered job satisfaction paradox, the finding that women report similar or greater job satisfaction than men despite persistent workplace inequalities. Using quantitative ratings of occupational identities and occupational data from the General Social Survey, I perform a series of occupation-level simulations and analyses to answer three questions. What is the characteristic or average emotion expected of each occupation and how does this vary by its gender composition? How does the predicted emotional reaction during a negative interaction event vary by the occupation’s gender composition? How is this affected when a male versus female worker performs the work? Results indicate that occupations with more female workers generate more positive characteristic emotions and elicit more positive average responses to negative interactions. Additionally, predicted emotions are less negative within occupations when the worker is female. This approach provides an important step in shifting the focus from individual differences between male and female workers to the cultural meanings associated with the structural positions they occupy at work.