An Echo Press Editorial: Employers should act to close gender gap

Two people doing the same job with the same experience, the same quality of work, the same reliability, the same skill sets.

Yet one receives $30,000 a year while the other person makes just $24,600. Not fair, right?

The only difference is one is a man and the other is a woman.

Although some progress has been made, the gender pay gap is still much too wide and study after study proves this. Women in 2022 still earned 17% less than men on average, particularly for women as they age, according to researchers.

For Women’s History Month this March, Forbes Advisor compiled statistics on the gender pay gap in 2023. It gathered information on how the gap compares across industry, location, demographic, and how it impacts retirement.

Forbes Advisor found that in the U.S., women earn just 82 cents for every dollar that a man makes. At that rate, a 20-year-old woman with full-time year-round work stands to lose $407,760 over a 40-year career compared to her male counterparts.At this rate, the research projects that gender pay equity won’t become a reality until 2059.

Some highlights from Forbes Advisor’s report:

• There are only three job roles in which women earn more than men — compliance officers, vocational nurses and wholesale retail buyers.
• Real estate brokers have the largest gender pay gap with men earning 60% more than their female counterparts.
• Worldwide, women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Looking more closely into the jobs with the 10 largest gender pay gaps, here’s how the numbers compare:
Real estate brokers and sales agents. Male median salary – $79,872. Female median salary – $49,920. Men earn 60% more.

Personal financial advisors. Male salary – $103,22. Female salary – $65,208. Men earn 58% more.

Insurance sales agents. Male salary – $71, 604. Female salary – $46,332. Men earn 55% more.

Sales managers. Male salary – $109,408. Female salary – $74568. Men earn 47% more.

School bus drivers. Male salary – $49,244. Female salary – $33,749. Men earn 46% more.

Sales and related occupations. Male salary – $59,228. Female salary – $40,716. Men earn 45% more.

Financial managers. Male salary – $110,032. Female salary – $76,336. Men earn 44% more.

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers. Male salary – $53,716. Female salary – $37,388. Men earn 44% more.

Recreation workers. Male salary – $48,360. Female salary – $34,424. Men earn 40% more.

Insurance claims and policy processing clerks. Male salary – $53,872. Female salary – $39,832. Men earn 35% more.

There’s something wrong with this picture. Employers everywhere, in every field, should take a good, hard look at their pay scales and ask themselves if they’re paying female workers a fair wage.

They should follow the lead of the employers who provide jobs with the smallest wage gaps or no gap at all, such as the compliance officers, vocational nurses and wholesale retail buyers mentioned earlier. Other jobs with gender pay gaps of 4% or less include physical and social science jobs, along with physical therapy, bartenders, special education teachers, cashiers and office clerks. See all of Forbes Advisor statistics on the gender pay gap at https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/gender-pay-gap-statistics/

At last week’s Alexandria City Council meeting, the council proclaimed March 20-24 as Lakes Area Professional Women’s Week in Alexandria. One of the organization’s major goals is to promote equity for all women and to help create better conditions for working women through the study and advocacy of social, educational and economic issues impacting women in the workplace. That’s a goal the whole community should strive to achieve.