Men Outearn Women in Almost All Occupations

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Elisabeth Crum 202.785.5100 ext. 24

A new analysis released by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) today on Equal Pay Day shows that men out-earn women in nearly every occupation for which data are available.

Of the more than 500 occupational categories for which sufficient data are provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in only 5 occupations do women earn the same or more than men.

Men earn more than women even in jobs that are most common among women, such as
Administrative assistants: women earn only 83.4 cents for a man's dollar
Elementary and middle school teachers: women earn 87.6 cents for a man's dollar
Registered nurses: women earn 87.4 cents for a man's dollar

Men and women still tend to be concentrated in very different jobs, with the most common jobs among women paying less than the most common jobs held by men. For example, the highest paying of the ten most common occupations for women, 'Registered Nurses,' pays $1,011 in median weekly earnings, whereas the highest paying of men's top ten most common jobs is 'Managers, all other,' which pays $1,359 per week. The lowest paying of the most common jobs for women is 'Cashier' at $349 per week, whereas the lowest paying most common job for men is 'Cook' at $404 per week.

Ariane Hegewisch, Study Director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, says, "Women tend to be in the minority of workers in the occupations with the highest earnings. We need to ensure that women are fully informed about the earnings potential of an occupation before they choose their careers."

The analysis uses data from the Bureau of Labor statistics from 2008.

To view the Fact Sheet, see www.iwpr.org/pdf/C350a.pdf