Women have a history of climbing through obstacles on their way up the corporate ladder. Way more than their male counterparts. In fact, Glassdoor released a report this year that analyzed over 4000,000 salaries in the U.S. in order to uncover the current gender pay gap statistics. The results? Women are earning an average of 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. That equals a pay gap of 21.4%.
The report also uncovered which professions have the largest and smallest gender pay gap. You can check these jobs and their associated differences in wages between men and women in the two lists below.
Jobs with the largest wage gap between males and females
- Pilot: 26.6%
- Chef: 24.6%
- C-Suite executive: 24%
- Computer programmer: 11.6%
- Professor: 11%
Jobs with the smallest gender pay gap
- Merchandiser: -7.8%
- Research assistant: -5.9%
- Social worker: -3%
- Military officer: -1.5%
- Environmental specialist: -0/8%
Gender pay gap by state
Just as the gender pay gap statistics vary by industry, they also differ by state. The above image shows all 50 states and their current pay gap.
Gender pay inequality is an unfortunate reality for many work environments, and it even includes competitive sports. However, while we still have a long way to go, we have also come a long way.
It’s encouraging to see some states and industries taking bigger strides to more equitable pay.
Payment disparity and senior-ranking positions
Of course, the explanations for the above-noted gender pay gap statistics are many and they are complex. One source of the issue is that more men are in higher-paying roles than women.
Think about some of the top firms in North America and the chances are good that more than half of the upper positions are held women. While there are always women who are rocking management roles, they’re not as common to see as men in the upper ranks. Not yet.
Many reasons account for that inequality in high-ranking corporate positions, including the glass cliff phenomenon. Yet I encourage you to take those obstacles and use them to drive your ambition rather than focus on how difficult it can be to succeed as a female professionally. Look to women who go for it each and every day, who overcome, such as Marissa Mayer in the tech sector and Julia Gillard in politics.
Another reason for more men than women being in higher-paying senior roles in the workplace are that women often hesitate or are less assertive than males in asking for pay raises. Personally I’ve had to work on making solid arguments for my abilities and not faltering as I give reasons why I deserve an increase in payments from my regular clients.
As a girl, I was taught that it’s not “lady-like” to be aggressive and there are still negative connotations with the word aggression. But I think it’s about the confidence in asking for the pay hike that can get you it so I say stand strong and ask for the value of your worth as a quality worker, ladies.
Feel free to comment on the topic of gender pay statistics below. If you live in the US, how does your state stack up in comparison to the others? Do the numbers surprise you, regardless of where you live in the world?
I know that my profession still has gender gap pay issues, but the company I work for doesn’t. All new employees are hired at the same rate, based on qualifications.
Awesome to hear about your current employer, Amy!
In this place I work, I feel it is equal. In my state as a whole, many places I go have a gender gap. I am not so sure about pay. I live in Minnesota
It all starts with one workplace at a time doing what’s fair. Great to know you work in one of those organizations, Michelle.
Will re-blog this link. This is an important topic that isn’t getting addressed very quickly here in the UK either.
Thank you, Stevie. It means a lot to me that you’re taking action with me on this one by re-blogging it.
It’s an important topic.
Indeed.
I still stand by my view that many women tend to step back at work when they have children as the well being of there family becomes the most important thing in their lives. I don’t think this is a bad thing, given that children need their mothers. I certainly stepped back and I can see my sister doing the same thing now. It is equal pay for equal commitment so women can’t expect concessions because they have children unless they do step back.
Women have so many things to balance and I’m certainly glad to see that many couples I know share the parenting responsibilities, including alternating time off work to be with baby (or taking leave together). xx
I think it also depends on the nature of both parents jobs. Senior positions in corporates tend to be very demanding and, despite any propaganda they state, you have to deliver despite any other commitments you may have. One prospective employer said to me when I told them that I had a chronically ill child and sometimes needed time off as a result that they paid high enough salaries for the employees to employ other people to look after their children and nurse them through illness.
Wow I’m kind of in shock that employer said that to you. I would need a moment to compose myself if told that…
I was interested to find that my home state, New York, has one of the smallest gender pay gaps in the country. It makes me wonder whether there’s something New York is doing that maybe some other states are not doing.
Ah, that’s a point for a future blog post of yours perhaps!
Possibly. Though now I’m reading that New York’s gender pay gap has grown in the last year or so. :( Oh well.
Boooo :(
Crazy,,,and sad.
Yes… and yes.