Women Still Lag Behind Men in Wages by a Significant Margin

According to this new chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women still lag far behind men in wages in many industries.

There are a few jobs, though, in which women earn close to, or even more, than men, including,

• Computer scientists and systems analysts, 92%
• Computer programmers, 93%
• Other life, physical and social science technicians, 102.4%
• Counselors, 94.1%
• Special education teachers, 97.7%
• Teacher's assistants, 104.6%
• Editors, 93%
• Registered nurses, 95%
• Food preparation workers, 95.3%
• Personal and home care aides, 95.8%
• Bill and account collectors, 95.4%
• Customer service representatives, 95.1%
• Postal sales clerks, 99.9%
• Construction and extraction occupations, 93.6%
• Bakers, 104%

The percentages over 100% illustrate the few industries in which women out-earn men, including the traditionally less-than-lucrative fields of baking and teaching assistants. However, for the vast majority of jobs, the wage disparity is greater. We've picked a few illustrative examples from the detailed BLS tables, in 2009 median weekly earnings:

• Purchasing managers: men $1,383, women $1,029
• Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners and investigators: men $1,128, women $845
• Computer programmers: men $1,267, women $1,182
• Lawyers: men $1,934, women $1,449
• Postsecondary teachers: men $1,342, women $1,030
• Laundry and dry cleaners workers: men $493, women $362
• Butchers: men $510, women $418
• Natural resources, construction and maintenance occupations: men $727, women $542
• Real estate brokers and sales agents: men $939, women $745
• Retail salespersons: men $624, women $443