The worst paying jobs for women
A full-time female employee earned 82.5% of what a man earned in 2014, up considerably from 1979, when women made an estimated 62% of what men did. While this is certainly an improvement, progress has slowed between 2000 and 2014.
In many of the largest occupations in the country, women earn close to what men do on a weekly basis. In others, however, the disparity remains closer to the 1979 levels. Median weekly earnings among female workers in all of the 10 occupations with the widest gender pay gap were less than three-quarters of what males earned. The typical female personal financial advisor brought in just 61.3% of her male counterpart's earnings in 2014, the widest pay gap among all occupations reviewed.
Based on the Current Population Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 occupations where the median weekly full-time earnings among women was the smallest as a percent of men's earnings.
According to Ariane Hegewisch, a study director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, pay gaps between men and women are often wider in traditionally high-paying occupations. Six of the 10 occupations with the widest pay gaps had median weekly earnings of more than $1,100, and were all among the higher weekly earnings figures.
These relatively high-paying jobs tend to have much more flexible pay packages that can include such extra incomes as commissions, bonuses, and merit pay. These advantages frequently favor males over females. Six of the 10 occupations had commission-based pay structures, available bonuses, merit-based pay such as tips, or a combination of the three.
These extra earnings are most common in financial occupations. Personal financial advisors, financial services sales agents, and financial managers all had among the 10 worst pay gaps, as well as relatively high median weekly earnings for men and women. The more forms of extra earnings available, Hegewisch explained, "the more scope there is for bias and discrimination."
How well-represented females are in a particular occupation's workforce is also a factor contributing to the pay gap. The occupations with the smallest pay gaps tend to have higher proportions of female workers. Alternatively, in six of the 10 occupations with the worst pay gaps, females were a minority of the workforce in 2014.
Hegewisch explained that men working in occupations with fewer men experience less discrimination than women working in male-dominated fields. Discrimination can take several forms. For example, it can be direct when a person is treated differently based on a personal characteristic protected by law. Discrimination can occur indirectly, when a practice or condition is implemented that will have the effect of illegitimate discrimination.
The gender composition of the workforce has changed over the last several decades, but the demands of both career and motherhood remain the same. Jobs such as doctors pay women less in part because women often choose specialties that require fewer hours and can accommodate family responsibilities. For example surgeons, who can "work 80-hour weeks, or 14 hours in a stretch" and receive more money as a result, are disproportionately men, Hegewisch said.
However, even where females seem to dominate a speciality — such as pediatrics — they still earn less than male doctors, according to a 2010 report from the Center for Research on Gender in the Professions. And, the Center concluded, "Women also earn less than men in the higher paying specialties. For example, women gastroenterologists make 79% of what their male counterparts earn."
To identify the 10 occupations with the largest gender wage gap, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' release of earnings data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) for 2014. The data are based on weekly earnings of both men and women working at least 35 hours a week year-round. We considered only occupations not broken out into more specific categories by the CPS. We also excluded those occupations not found in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). As the BLS explained, the OOH provides much greater detail and more data for occupations.
These are the jobs with the largest pay gaps between men and women.
1. Personal financial advisers
> Women's earnings as pct. of men's: 61.3%
> Women median weekly earnings: $1,004
> Men median weekly earnings: $1,637
> Number of workers: 335,000
Female personal financial advisors earned 61.3% of what their male counterparts earned in 2014, the widest earnings gap among all occupations reviewed. The pay gap also worsened substantially from 2005, when women earned nearly 72% of what men earned in the profession. By contrast, the income gap improved slightly across all occupations over that time. Like many other occupations with wide gender pay gaps, personal financial advisors typically earned income through informal, more flexible channels such as commissions and bonuses. As Hegewisch suggested, men were frequently the recipients of these extra wages. Personal financial advisors, who offer advice to clients regarding taxes, investments and insurance decisions, are paid very well regardless of gender. The profession had median weekly earnings of $1,337 in 2014, one of the highest figures reviewed.
2. Physicians and surgeons
> Women's earnings as pct. of men's: 62.2%
> Women median weekly earnings: $1,246
> Men median weekly earnings: $2,002
> Number of workers: 759,000
Physicians and surgeons were among the highest earners — sixth highest overall — but had the second most severe earnings gap. While physician earnings vary between primary care doctors and specialists, female doctors earned 62.2% of what their male counterparts earned in 2014. Only female financial advisors had a larger pay gap. Because of the earnings gap, while male doctors were the third highest earners among men, female doctors were only the 13th highest earners among women. A recent study found women are over-represented in traditionally lower-paying specialties, like pediatrics, which could partly explain the earnings gap. In 2014, the median weekly earnings of physicians and surgeons was $1,661 with men earning $2,002 and women $1,246.
3. Securities, commodities, and financial service sales agents
> Women's earnings as pct. of men's: 65.1%
> Women median weekly earnings: $883
> Men median weekly earnings: $1,356
> Number of workers: 235,000
Women employed as securities, commodities and financial sales agents earned less than two-thirds of what their male counterparts earned in 2014. Despite improving faster than the pay gap improved across the nation from 2005, this was a larger pay gap than of all but two occupations reviewed. People in the occupation facilitate deals between buyers and sellers in financial markets. They also offer trading advice to companies and individual investors. As is common in the financial sector, financial services sales agents are paid extremely well, regardless of gender. The median weekly earnings among workers in the profession was $1,122 in 2014, higher than the vast majority of occupations reviewed. Still, women earned 65% of what men did last year.
4. Financial managers
> Women's earnings as pct. of men's: 67.4%
> Women median weekly earnings: $1,127
> Men median weekly earnings: $1,671
> Number of workers: 1,133,000
Financial managers are responsible for their organization's financial health. They produce financial reports, are in charge of direct investment activities and develop strategies and plans to achieve their organization's long-term financial goals. Women outnumbered men as financial managers 606,000 to 527,000, but their weekly earnings were just 67.4% of what men earned in 2014. There were a total of 1.1 million financial managers, one of the largest workforces among occupations reviewed. While the pay gap is one of the worst, it improved from 2005 when women earned 63.3% of what men earned, a faster improvement than that of the nation.
5. Top executives
> Women's earnings as pct. of men's: 70.0%
> Women median weekly earnings: $1,572}
> Men median weekly earnings: $2,246
> Number of workers: 1,077,000
Top executives are responsible for strategies and policies that move an organization toward its goals by planning, directing, and coordinating the operations of their companies. They are usually a company's highest earners. There were almost three times as many men as women in this occupation in 2014, the second highest ratio among the 10 jobs with the highest pay gaps. Men also earned nearly 43% more than women in the same position. Male CEOs had median weekly earnings of $2,246, the highest among men in all occupations reviewed. Earnings for all CEOs were also the highest compared to all occupations.
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