These Are the Jobs Where Men Still Make WAY More Than Women
We’re not going to sugarcoat this: The US is not currently looking so hot when it comes to gender equality.
The World Economic Forum recently ranked the US at a paltry 23 out of 30 against other developed nations, in areas including income equality. Simply put, it’s just not good enough.
Today marks Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the gender pay gap. The date is chosen by analyzing current pay data to determine, on average, how far into a year a woman would need to work to earn the same amount men earned the year before. So, today, on April 4, 2017, women finally earned as much as the average man made by the time 2016 came to a close. Women are still only earning 80 percent of what men make, and that gap widens significantly for women of color: In 2015, Hispanic and Latina women made only 54 percent of what white men make, while black women only made 63 percent, according to the AAUW.
The wage gap changes based on occupation too. The Center for American Progress found in 2015 that the most unequal industry is finance — personal financial advisors saw the biggest discrepancy, with women only earning about $53,000 to men’s $90,000. Oof. Financial sales agents and financial managers also ranked within the top five worst wage gaps, with women earning barely as much as 65 percent as men.
Physicians and surgeons came second only to personal financial advisors as having the largest wage gap, with women only earning 62 percent as much as men. $99,500 vs $79,700 is way too significant to ignore.
The top 10 worst wage offenders are rounded out by supervisors in the custodial and production line fields, sales representatives, CEOs, retail workers, and teachers.
The lowest wage gap is found among store clerks, medical technicians, housekeepers, and cooks, where women earn close to — if not the same or more as — their male counterparts.
The IWPR says that if the pay ratio between men and women continues to change at the same pace as it has since 1960, the wage gap won’t close until 2059. Equal pay measures put in place by President Barack Obama are a start, but we can also make sure we’re staying up to date on the equal pay laws in our states and by letting Congress know that pay equity is important — because 2059 is simply way too far away.
Do you think you’ll see the gender wage gap close in your lifetime? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photos via Sean Gallup, John Moore/Getty, images via the Centre for American Progress)
