Over the past three decades women’s median income has increased 63%, and now more than a third of working wives earn more than their husbands. It’s no surprise when, although they were once discouraged from pursuing higher education, women now surpass men in achievement of bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
[Related:
How To Ask For A Raise]
Across sectors, women continue earning only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, but more and more they are landing high-paying professional jobs and narrowing the gap. An analysis of the median weekly earnings of full-time American workers in 2011 by occupation and gender, as tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows the top 20 jobs where women are earning the most. All require some college and most are concentrated in health care, science and technology, and business fields.
At No. 1, pharmacist is the best-paying job for women, where they earn a median of $1,898 a week or approximately $99,000 a year. Women comprise more than half (56%) of all pharmacists and earn nearly as a much as men in the job. Moreover, the field offers more than 10,000 annual openings and is expected to grow 25% by 2020.
[More from Forbes.com:
Top 20 Best-Paying Cities For Women]
“Pharmacy is known for paying very well straight out of school and all the way through your career,” says Katie Bardaro, lead economist at compensation research firm PayScale. “It’s a very good return on investment in terms of money and time spent on education.”
While pharmacists must achieve a four-year professional degree and pass licensing exams, physicians and surgeons attend four years of medical school and complete three to eight years of internship and residency. Yet, for women, doctor comes in as the fourth highest paying job—behind pharmacists, lawyers (No. 2) and computer and information systems managers (No. 3)—with median weekly earnings of $1,527 or about $79,000 a year. They also earn 21% less than male doctors.
Bardaro explains that physicians face a much wider range of specialty and practice type. Men trend toward high-risk, high-paying areas like plastic and brain surgery, she says, while women are more likely to move into lower-paying specialties like general practice and pediatrics.
Even so, health-care jobs feature some of the best salaries, highest female representation and figure prominently on this list. Female nurse practitioners (No. 6) earn a median of $1,432 a week and hold 85% of positions. Women are also the majority of psychologists (No. 10), physical therapists (No. 12), occupational therapists (No. 13) and medical and health services managers (No. 16), and all earn more than $60,000 a year.
“It pays to be in a field that’s female-dominated,” says Caren Goldberg, a management professor at American University’s business school in Washington, D.C., who studies gender and pay, “because in a large group of women you’re less likely to be seen as a ‘typical’ female and thus less likely to experience discrimination.”
The STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and math—also feature strong projected growth, high salaries and narrower gender wage gaps, but women are less likely to pursue them. Female software developers (No. 7) earn a median of $1,388 a week, and female computer programmers (No. 11) earn $1,238. Yet women make up just 18% and 20%, respectively, of these workers.
“STEM fields offer a lot of job opportunities, and we should encourage more women to move into them,” says Bardaro. She speculates that extremely male-dominated fields, like technology, feel less welcoming and open to women. “It’s hard to go against the grain.”
[More from Forbes.com:
The Most Unfair Cities to Be a Working Woman]
Traditionally male leadership positions have also been tougher for women to catch up in. Chief executive (No. 5) is one of the top-paying jobs for women, with median weekly earnings of $1,464, or about $76,000 a year. However, women hold just a quarter of these titles and earn 31% less than their male peers—a difference of $658 each week. Similarly, female marketing and sales managers (No. 19) make 32% less than men in the job.
In Bardaro’s research into these occupations, even when factors like education, experience, location, industry and firm size are considered there remains a large wage gap that is likely only explained by discrimination. “When there’s a boys club, women don’t have strength in numbers,” she says. “Women are also known for being less successful at salary negotiations, and that gets even more pronounced as you move up the ladder.”
The good news, says Bardaro, is women’s high educational attainment has dramatically shifted the jobs and salaries available to them. “It takes time to see major change, but I think we’re finally seeing the fruits of our mothers’ labor.”
Here's a list of the best-paying jobs for women:
No. 1: PharmacistsMedian weekly earnings: $1,898
Approximate median yearly earnings: $99,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 56%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 95%
No. 2: LawyersMedian weekly earnings: $1,631
Approximate median yearly earnings: $85,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 34%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 87%
No. 3: Computer and Information Systems ManagersMedian weekly earnings: $1,543
Approximate median yearly earnings: $80,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 26%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 97%
No. 4: Physicians and SurgeonsMedian weekly earnings: $1,527
Approximate median yearly earnings: $79,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 36%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 79%
No. 5: Chief ExecutivesMedian weekly earnings: $1,464
Approximate median yearly earnings: $76,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 25%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 69%
No. 6: Nurse PractitionersMedian weekly earnings: $1,432
Approximate median yearly earnings: $74,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 85%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: data not available
No. 7: Software Developers*Median weekly earnings: $1,388
Approximate median yearly earnings: $72,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 18%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 86%
*Applications and systems softwareNo. 8: Operations Research AnalystsMedian weekly earnings: $1,326
Approximate median yearly earnings: $69,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 44%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 105%
No. 9: Human Resources ManagersMedian weekly earnings: $1,273
Approximate median yearly earnings: $66,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 72%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 86%
No. 10: PsychologistsMedian weekly earnings: $1,244
Approximate median yearly earnings: $65,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 71%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: data not available
Click here to see the rest of the Top 20 Best-Paying Jobs for Women in 2012More from Forbes.com:The Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Women10 Happiest Jobs for Working MomsWhat Women Could Afford If They Earned Equal Pay for Equal Work
Tim Ferris has come out with a life changing book, where he shares his key takeaways from conversations with Billionaires, Titans, and World Leaders! Order the ebook summary today for only 99 cents, no need to waste your time reading the entire book.
Flickr/Shannon Frost#1 Little Rock, Arkansas
Flickr Creative Commons/Nicholas_T#2 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Wikipedia#3 Virginia Beach, Virginia
Wikimedia Commons#4 Albany, New York
Flickr/dougtone#5 Buffalo, New York
Flickr/MikeSheridan89#6 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Flickr/shchukin#7 Honolulu, Hawaii
#8 Jackson, Mississippi
AP#9 Syracuse, New York
#10 Poughkeepsie, New York
Wikimedia Commons#11 Albuquerque, New Mexico
GettySan Jose, Calif., has the highest median household income among the country’s 25 most populous cities, with the city’s level approaching $77,000 last year, about 50% higher than the national median of $51,000, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The city boasts that it’s “home to the largest concentration of technology expertise in the world — more than 6,600 technology companies employing more than 254,000 people.” Taking a broader view, California is home to several top cities for household income. However, the state is one of only five where inequality is higher than the U.S. level. Median household income in California is higher than for the U.S. as a whole, but the state’s poverty rate is also above the national average.
ThinkstockFollowing close on San Jose’s heels is San Francisco, where median household income hit almost $70,000 last year. The city is filled with computer and technical workers, many making north of $90,000 a year. People are highly educated, with 52% of those at least 25-years old having at least a college degree, compared with 29% across the U.S. Even San Francisco’s youngest residents are into education: about 70% of the preschool-age tots are enrolled in school, compared with 47% across the U.S. Also of note: more than one-third San Francisco’s population is foreign-born, compared with 13% of the U.S.
GettyHouseholds in Washington, D.C. are No. 3 when it comes to income, with a median of about $63,000. Folks there are well educated, and home values are high. It’s a company town — about 29% of workers are federal, state or local government employees. About 11% of Washington households have income of at least $200,000, compared with 4% in the United States.
APIn Seattle the median household income was $61,000 last year. The largest industry is educational services, and health care and social assistance, followed by professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services. Turns out coffee is a pretty big deal there, too: Starbucks (SBUX) is headquartered in Seattle.
GettySan Diego had a median household income of $61,000 last year, ranking it No. 5 among the country’s largest cities. About 44% of workers are in management, business, science, and arts occupations. And, of course, there’s the city’s famous zoo, home to meerkats, wombats and other creatures. But San Diego isn’t resting on its cute laurels. According to the city’s website, the regional economy “continues to undergo a dynamic transformation from one based on military and defense spending to an economy that is propelled by high-technology companies competing in the international marketplace.”
GettyDetroit has the lowest median household income among the country’s most populous cities, ranking it No. 25. Last year household income was about $25,000, half of the national level. While the auto industry has improved, Detroit remains deeply troubled. The median value for an owner-occupied home in this city is about $50,000, less than one-third of the U.S. level. Meanwhile, only about 13% of people at least 25 years old have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 29% for the country. Detroit says it wants to reclaim its “future as a world-class city,” by diversifying into areas such as life sciences and advanced manufacturing.
GettyAt $34,000, the median household income in Philadelphia is a jump up from Detroit, but still ranks the City of Brotherly Love at No. 24. The median value for an owner-occupied home was $142,000, compared with a U.S. level of $174,000. The educational services, and health care and social assistance industry accounts for about three-tenths of the working population, with major employers such as the University of Pennsylvania and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) .
ThinkstockMemphis ranks No. 23, with a median household income of about $35,000 in 2011. The largest chunk of the employed population — about one-fifth — is in the educational services, and health care and social assistance industry. There are major employers such as FedEx (FDX) — which recently issued a profit warning — International Paper (IP) and AutoZone (AZO) . Tourists can enjoy a visit to Graceland.
APHouseholds in Baltimore have a relatively low median income of about $39,000, ranking the city No. 22. The setting for the gritty, fictional television series “The Wire,” Baltimore has a median value for an owner-occupied home of $154,000, compared with $174,000 for the U.S. About one-quarter of the city’s population is in poverty. Educational services, and health care and social assistance is by far the largest industry, with major employers such as Johns Hopkins University.
ThinkstockThe median household income in Indianapolis is about $39,000, ranking it No. 21. The largest industry is educational services, and health care and social assistance, followed by retail trade. About one-in-four people who are at least 25 have at least a bachelor’s degree. The city, known for its auto racing, has attracted substantial foreign investment from firms such Rolls-Royce (RR.L) .
Of course, don't forget the more obvious household uses for a binder clip: clipping things together. Can't find a chip clip? Keep your chips closed with a binder clip. Toothpaste tube giving you trouble? Roll it up and stick the flat end in a binder clip. And when you run out of chips and toothpaste, it can hold your grocery list on your cart, too, so you remember to buy more.
Why buy an expensive car dock for your smartphone when you can make one out of a binder clip? This project is a tad more involved, requiring you to bend the binder clip's arms and wrap them in yarn, but when you're done, you'll have the cheapest, most effective car mount your smartphone's ever used. Plus, if you clip it to your air conditioner vent, it'll keep your phone from overheating during long GPS-driven trips.
By Jenna Goudreau | Forbes – Thu, Jul 26, 2012 12:56 PM EDT
