The latest annual salary survey by Working Women magazine pretty much confirms the trend over the last decade — on average women’s earnings are only 76.5% that of men’s, but the difference disappears when comparing men and women in the same field with similar characteristics. In fact in some fields, women earn significantly more than men.
The current figure is an improvement of 14% since 1979, when women made on average only 62.5 cents for every dollar a man made.
Comparing men as a whole to women as a whole is deceptive, however, since the two groups are not homogenous in the work force. Men, for example, tend to work many more hours than women. Many women also tend to take extended breaks from the work force to have children during the twenties, which sets them back in the race for promotions.
“It’s extremely hard to make comparisons, but when you are better able to compare employees of equivalent aspirations and equivalent commitment, the closer the salaries are,” economist June O’Neill told the Associated Press.
Ironically there are now some fields where men out-earn women.In advertising, women CEO’s earn an average of $275,000 compared to men who make $253,100. The most startling example is occupational therapy where women earn an average of about $39,000 compared to men who make an average of about $32,000. Typically many feminists have argued that the mere existence of discrepancies in average salaries is prima facie evidence of sexual discrimination. It will be interesting to see how they shift their position once the salary advantage shifts in other occupations.
It is also interesting to consider how the closing wage gap will affect support among men and women for affirmative action programs. As Working Woman editor Lisa Freeman pointed out, the reason for the shift is largely because most business today care little about the sex of a worker, but rather the quality of a worker. “They’re looking for good employees, regardless of color, regardless of sex,” Freeman told the Associated Press.
Contrary to the assertions of radical feminists, women don’t need any special privileges to succeed economically, just a fair shot based on their merit.
Source:
Study: women’s salaries lag behind men’s pay. The Associated press, July 4, 2000.