15 Jobs in Which Women Earn the Most (and Least) Compared With Men

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on SmartAsset.com.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data from the second quarter of 2021 shows that female, full-time wage and salary workers earn 82% of what their male counterparts do on average.

This pay gap has remained relatively constant over the past decade, but it varies even further among women and men when comparing different racial and ethnic demographics. For instance, Black women’s median weekly earnings ($746) make up only about 67% of white men’s median weekly earnings ($1,115). However, median weekly earnings for white and Asian women ($921 and $1,037, respectively), while still below those of white men, exceed those of Hispanic men ($825).

Just as race and ethnicity affect pay gaps between men and women, occupation also plays a role. In this study, SmartAsset investigated the occupations in which women earn the most and least relative to men. Specifically, we used BLS data from 2019 to compare median weekly earnings for women and men for a total of 111 occupations. For details on our data sources and how we put the information together to create our findings, check out the Data and Methodology section at the end.

Occupations in Which Women Earn the Most Relative to Men

Women earn more than men in five occupations. Beyond those occupations, there are seven additional occupations for which the pay gap is less than 5%. Keep reading to see the top 15 occupations in which women earn the most relative to men.

1. Counselors

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,003
• Men’s weekly earnings: $944
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 106.25%

2. Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $467
• Men’s weekly earnings: $457
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 102.19%

3. Industrial Production Managers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,497
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,469
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 101.91%

4. Stock Clerks and Order Fillers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $605
• Men’s weekly earnings: $596
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 101.51%

5. First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,173
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,157
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 101.38%

6. Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products

• Women’s weekly earnings: $977
• Men’s weekly earnings: $982
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 99.49%

7. Cashiers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $499
• Men’s weekly earnings: $510
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 97.84%

8. Bookkeeping, Accounting and Auditing Clerks

• Women’s weekly earnings: $764
• Men’s weekly earnings: $784
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 97.45%

9. Registered Nurses

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,217
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,256
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 96.89%

10. Medical Scientists

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,175
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,214
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 96.79%

11. Shipping, Receiving and Traffic Clerks

• Women’s weekly earnings: $662
• Men’s weekly earnings: $686
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 96.50%

12. Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

• Women’s weekly earnings: $763
• Men’s weekly earnings: $795
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 95.97%

13. Nursing, Psychiatric and Home Health Aides

• Women’s weekly earnings: $556
• Men’s weekly earnings: $588
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 94.56%

14. General Office Clerks

• Women’s weekly earnings: $677
• Men’s weekly earnings: $718
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 94.29%

15. Computer and Information Systems Managers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,892
• Men’s weekly earnings: $2,019
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 93.71%

Occupations in Which Women Earn the Least Relative to Men

According to BLS data, there are seven occupations in which women earn less than 70% of what men earn on average. What’s more, all of the following occupations are ones in which women earn less than 75% of what their male counterparts bring home each week.

1. Financial Managers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,207
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,897
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 63.63%

2. Personal Financial Advisers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,232
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,905
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 64.67%

3. Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents

• Women’s weekly earnings: $883
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,344
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 65.70%

4. Credit Counselors and Loan Officers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,020
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,542
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 66.15%

5. Operations Research Analysts

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,188
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,753
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 67.77%

6. First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $721
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,031
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 69.93%

7. Producers and Directors

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,156
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,652
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 69.98%

8. Web Developers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,150
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,633
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 70.42%

9. Retail Salespersons

• Women’s weekly earnings: $578
• Men’s weekly earnings: $806
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 71.71%

10. Property, Real Estate and Community Association Managers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $849
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,168
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 72.69%

11. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,228
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,688
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 72.75%

12. Marketing and Sales Managers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,393
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,895
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 73.51%

13. Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers and Weighers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $693
• Men’s weekly earnings: $939
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 73.80%

14. First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $708
• Men’s weekly earnings: $955
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 74.14%

15. Medical and Health Services Managers

• Women’s weekly earnings: $1,362
• Men’s weekly earnings: $1,828
• Percentage of men’s earnings: 74.51%

Data and Methodology

To find the occupations in which women earn the most and least relative to men, we considered all occupations reported by the BLS. After eliminating occupations with incomplete data or those with “all other” or “miscellaneous” in the title, we were left with a total of 111 occupations. For each of those occupations, we looked at two factors:

• Median weekly earnings for women. This is for full-time women.
• Median weekly earnings for men. This is for full-time men.

Data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is for 2019.

To rank occupations, we divided median weekly earnings for women by median weekly earnings for men. Occupations in which women earn the most relative to men are those with the highest calculated percentage. Occupations in which women earn the least relative to men are those with the lowest calculated percentage.