Women in top-paying jobs still make less than men

By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Even in the highest paying jobs, women still make less than men, according to a new report by a women's research group.

CEO, pharmacist and lawyer are among the 10 most lucrative job titles for women, according to the study released Tuesday by the Institute for Women's Policy Research. But while women in those positions earned median pay topping $100,000 a year, that was just about 75% of what men with the same job titles earned.

10 top paying jobs for women
Women who held these 10 jobs earned the most money last year -- but their male counterparts made even more.

The median weekly salary for a woman chief executive, for example, was $1,500 last year, compared with $2,000 for a man.

When looking at how much women are paid vs. men in all jobs, the overall wage gap holds at 77 cents to the dollar. But that so-called wage gap doesn't take into account differences in education, tenure and industry -- all factors which determine a worker's pay.

Even when researchers account for those factors, at least half of the gap remains unexplained, said Ariane Hegewisch, who directed the study.

Betty Spence, president of the National Association of Female Executives, an advocacy group representing women executives, says those numbers are alarming.

Still, she says, gender bias may not be entirely responsible for the unaccounted-for part of the gap. Women may work fewer hours than men or may not be as aggressive in negotiating salaries, said Spence.

Among the 10 highest paying jobs, the disparity was widest for women physicians and surgeons, who on average, make 64 cents to the dollar compared to their male counterparts.

Women in technology-related fields, however, fared the best.

"High-tech companies are much more gender-blind," Spence said. That's probably because technology is a newer field and more progressive, she said.

Women computer programmers make 93% of what men in the same position make and on average earn $1,182 per week. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.