It’s no secret that men earn more than their female co-workers. It’s an oft-cited statistic that women earn just 78 cents for every dollar men earn. It’s a trend that’s shown little sign of turning around anytime soon.
Although research has shown that new female college graduates earn the same amount, or more than, their male cohorts during their first years in the workforce, the pay gap quickly shifts and widens in favor of men shortly after.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently tracked the earnings of men and women across more than 300 occupations. It found that there are very few jobs where women earn pay that is equal to or more than their male co-workers. In 2014, for example, women earned a similar or slightly higher level of pay than men in just 10 out of the more than 300 professions the Census Bureau tracked.
In general, the gender pay gap – favoring men – was the most pronounced in the financial sector and money management professions.
But newly released Census Bureau data revealed that women in the following jobs took home a bigger paycheck than their male co-workers:
- Tour and travel guides: Women earned 14.8 percent more on average than men in the same field (based on 2014 data).
- Musicians, singers and related workers: 7.6 percent more
- Transportation, storage and distribution managers: 7.1 percent more
- Dietitians and nutritionists: 5.7 percent more
- Residential advisers: 0.8 percent more
- Wholesale and retail buyers, except in farm products: 0.6 percent more
- Counselors: 0.5 percent more
Based on the bureau’s data, women earn nearly the same wages as their male cohorts in these three professions: industrial truck and tractor operators; computer, automated teller and office machine repairers; and biological scientists.
The gender gap in pay impacts more than women’s finances. Check out “Gender Wage Gap Is Not Just Unfair – It’s Depressing.”
What do you think of the gender pay gap? Do you experience it in your own profession? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.
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