The gender pay gap
Have you been lying awake at night
wondering if men are still better paid than women for the same
jobs? Well, probably not, but we are all too aware that the pay gap
is still with us. However, the figures that are usually quoted are
very broad, such as median income for all men ages 25-45.
I was interested in specifically comparing the income of the
same professional groups I looked at in Part 1 of this series. I
was also interested to see if the highest paid men were part of
these occupational groups.
Background
There were almost 237,000 men in New Zealand in 2001 who were
classified as full time 'Professionals' or 'Legislators,
Administrators and Managers' compared with 219,000 women in the
same categories. These men represented just over a quarter of all
men and women surveyed in the census
Who's better educated?
Women are! Just under half of the men in these groups (47%) held
an advanced vocational qualification, a bachelor degree or higher
qualification. This compares to over half (57%) of the women.
Who earns more than $100K?
The proportion of full time working adults who earned over $100K
in 2001 was 4%. The proportion of 'Professionals' and 'Legislators,
Administrators and Managers' (both men and women) who earned over
$100k in 2001 was 10%.
The interesting picture emerged when I looked at women and men
in these two groups separately. Fourteen percent (14%) of men who
were 'Professionals' and 'Legislators, Administrators and Managers'
earned over $100K in 2001.
Only 3%, yes, THREE PERCENT of the women in the same two
categories who were working full time earned over $100K!!
So who are the men that earn the most and how do they compare
to the women who earned the most?
To re-cap, the highest paid women in 2001 were Information
Technology Managers with a median income of $61,158. Who do you
think were the highest paid men from our selection of occupations
in 2001?
You probably guessed it, barristers and solicitors. Male
barristers and solicitors had a median income of $90,704 in 2001.
This median income is almost twice as much as women barristers and
solicitors whose median income was $48,567 in 2001.
And here is how the median incomes for our select occupations
compares for men and women and the income gap between them:
| Occupation |
Median income for
women
|
Median income for
men
|
Pay Gap
|
| Information Technology Managers |
$61,158
|
$75,276
|
$14,118
|
| Human Resources manager |
$54,765
|
$62,642
|
$7,877
|
| Advertising and Public Relations Manager |
$51,608
|
$72,608
|
$21,000
|
| Barristers and Solicitors |
$48,567
|
$90,704
|
$42,137
|
| Management Consultant |
$47,748
|
$66,406
|
$18,658
|
| Chief Executive and Managing Director |
$47,517
|
$74,936
|
$27,419
|
| Accountant |
$41,062
|
$59,919
|
$18,857
|
NOTE - these detailed median income figures are for 'the
employed' which implies all employed not just full time. More on
this later.
It's just too depressing. Women had a significantly lower median
income for each of the occupations examined. It even applied in HR
(although this was the smallest gap), but the discrepancy for
barristers is by far the largest.
I must be a masochist because I kept going. I looked at the
proportion of men and women in these occupations who earned over
$100K in 2001.
So here we go:
| Occupation |
% Women earning over
$100K
|
% Men earning over
$100K
|
| Information Technology Managers |
13%
|
25%
|
| Human Resources Manager |
10%
|
18%
|
| Advertising and Public Relations Manager |
9%
|
27%
|
| Barristers and Solicitors |
13%
|
44%
|
| Management Consultant |
16%
|
30%
|
| Chief Executive and Managing Director |
19%
|
38%
|
| Accountant |
3%
|
20%
|
Men in 2001 were much better paid than women and were basically
at least twice (with the exception of HR) as likely as women to
earn over $100K.
However, these detailed median income figures are for all
employed adults, not just for the full time employed. Maybe these
figures reflect the fact that women in these occupations are more
likely to work part time?
In my next and final article on the 2001 figures I'll try and
answer this question.
What are your thoughts about these numbers? Were you surprised?
Do you think 2006 Census numbers will reflect a similar reality? We
would love to hear from you, so please e-mail us on feedback@professionelle.co.nz
© Professionelle Ltd 2007