The gender pay gap, or the difference between what men and women earn in the same jobs, is a well-documented phenomenon that spans different industries, cities and wealth brackets.
Data from the United States Census Bureau found that women earn, on average, 83 cents to a man's dollar. Median salaries were, in 2021, $53,544 for men and $43,394 for women,
A wide range of historical and present-day reasons come together to create the current picture — from outright discrimination to missed opportunities due to labor and childcare and jobs that are traditionally seen as "feminine" being compensated less generously than the reverse.
In honor of National Business Women's Day on September 22, financial news platform TradingPedia crunched the numbers on specific industries and demographics where the wage gap is particularly acute.
The Dangers Of Management
A broad term that refers to supervising other employees' work in a range of different industries, management was by far the worst with a gender difference of 37.79%. While male managers earn an average of $1,743 a week, that number is only $1,265 for female managers.
Services, sales and office occupations as well as natural resources are some other industries with a particularly pronounced wage gap — for the latter, it is a difference of $975 a week for men and $782 for women. The survey did not look at differences between non-binary or gender nonconforming workers.
"The data affirms the years-long tendency female executives to be paid less for their time, effort and skill compared to men in similar positions," Brian McColl, a TradingPedia anlayst, said in a statement. "And the pay gap seems to continue widening, as in Q2 2021, female managers received 32.72% less in average weekly remuneration than male executives."
According to the survey, black and hispanic women working full-time earned 11.86% and 14.25% less than black and hispanic men in the same jobs. While white and asian women earned a respective average of 17.66% less and 20.99% less than White and Asian men.
While Asian and White women earn a respective $1,182 and $956 a week, their Black and Hispanic counterparts earn only $840 and $752.
It Gets Worse As Women Get Older
Age-related gender discrimination is also a tendency that seeps into all levels of the workforce. While the difference between men and women aged 20 to 24 is just over 5% ($719 a week compared to $689 a week), that number soars to over 21% for the 35 to 44-year age bracket.
Men aged between 45 and 54 also earn an average of $1,316 a week while women of the same age only earn $1,051 a week. This is the age when many people reach the pinnacle of their careers and, according to some researchers, when many women start to get passed up for promotion opportunities due to everything from the time spent in maternity leave to an uneven division of home and childcare responsibilities.
"In terms of age, men aged between 35 and 44 years earned the most per week on average — $1,332," the study's authors write.
Men and women aged between 16 and 19 predictably earn the least as most are still in school although the wage gap managed to seep even into this bracket — while women earned an average of $546 a week, men brought in $643.
"These are still early days for pay transparency," Manuela Tomei, director of the International Labor Department's conditions of work and equality department, recently said in a statement. "While more time is needed to assess the effectiveness of the different measures and practices, it is encouraging that hovernments, workers' and employers’ organizations seek to devise innovative solutions, such as pay transparency, to tackle a stubborn problem."
