12 Occupations Where the Wage Gap Between Men and Women Is Highest
Hollywood has turned up the conversation on equal pay for women and a new report proves that the pay gap between men and women is just as bad as we thought it was.
While Friday's jobs report signaled a rebound in hiring and rising wages in October, there is "no industry where women earn equal to or more than men overall," even when adjusting for factors such as experience and education, a Nov. 4 report by PayScale, an online salary, benefits and compensation company, determined.
The report examines the difference in median earnings of men and women overall, as well as by demographic and marital and family status. The report also looked at differences across industry, job category, degree level, management status and state and metro area, PayScale said. The data was collected from approximately 1.4 million full-time employees between July 2013 and July 2015.
Astonishingly, while the annual median pay for males is $60,200, annual median pay for women is just $44,800, a 25.6% difference in pay - that's just 74 cents for women for every dollar earned by men, PayScale's Gender Pay Gap found.
Calculating the industry's "controlled median pay" for females, which adjusts pay for years of experience, education, company size, management responsibilities, and skills, among other factors, brings the pay gap significantly down, but men still earn 2.7% more than women, the report said. PayScale said the controlled scenario is a more apples to apples comparison of pay equity.
The gender pay gap is highest between married men and married women who both have children at 31.1%. Under the controlled calculation, married men with children still make 4.2% more than women.
What's more disturbing is that more education doesn't solve the gender pay gap, PayScale noted. Doctorate holders have the highest controlled pay gap at 5.1%, followed by MBA holders at 4.7%, and doctors at 4.6%.
Part of the problem lies in the type of job. "Men primarily hold many of the highest-paying types of jobs, like engineering, computer science, and business and finance," the report said. "Women, meanwhile, hold a majority of teaching, social service and personal care jobs."
Still even by industry there are big disparities. The biggest gap in pay between men and women is in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction industries. There, men make 25.3% more than women, PayScale said. The pay gap diminishes to 5.4% under a controlled scenario, but is still the highest gap by industry, the report said.
Despite persistent accusations of discrimination against women, it's the tech industry that displays the smallest gender pay gap.
TheStreet looked at gender pay gap by occupation. Here are the 12 occupations with the biggest pay gaps using PayScale's "controlled" pay gap calculation.
12. Computer and Mathematical Occupations
Pay Gap: 3%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 79%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 21%
Median Male Pay: $72,700
Controlled Female Median Pay: $70,500
11. Education, Training and Library Occupations
Pay Gap: 3.2%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 29%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 71%
Median Male Pay: $54,600
Controlled Female Median Pay: $52,900
10. Protective Service Occupations
Pay Gap: 3.3%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 80%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 20%
Median Male Pay: $38,200
Controlled Female Median Pay: $36,900
9. Life, Physical And Social Science Occupation
Pay Gap: 3.9%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 50%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 50%
Median Male Pay: $58,300
Controlled Female Median Pay: $56,000
8. Business and Financial Operations Occupations
Pay Gap: 4%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 45%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 55%
Median Male Pay: $61,400
Controlled Female Median Pay: $58,900
7. Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
Pay Gap: 4.1%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 87%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 13%
Median Male Pay: $35,800
Controlled Female Median Pay: $34,300
6. Sales and Related Occupations
Pay Gap: 4.5%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 47%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 53%
Median Male Pay: $46,100
Controlled Female Median Pay: $44,000
5. Management Occupations
Pay Gap: 4.5%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 54%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 46%
Median Male Pay: $79,400
Controlled Female Median Pay: $75,800
4. Construction and Extraction Occupations
Pay Gap: 5.2%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 97%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 3%
Median Male Pay: $43,100
Controlled Female Median Pay: $40,900
3. Production Occupations
Pay Gap: 5.9%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 79%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 21%
Median Male Pay: $40,400
Controlled Female Median Pay: $38,000
2. Installation, Maintenance and Repair Occupations
Pay Gap: 7.6%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 95%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 5%
Median Male Pay: $43,600
Controlled Female Median Pay: $40,300
1. Farming, Fishing and Forestry Occupations
Pay Gap: 9.4%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Male: 67%
Percent of Workers in Industry Who Are Female: 33%
Median Male Pay: $30,600
Controlled Female Median Pay: $27,700