Occupational Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap

In addition to the gender wage gap (in which, during 2011, men earned 17.8% more in median weekly earnings than women), occupational segregation is also a continuing problem. According to a report published in April by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 39.5% of women work in conventionally female jobs and almost half of men (44.5%) work in conventionally male occupations. Only about 6 out of 100 women work in conventionally male jobs and only about 5 out of 100 men work in conventionally female jobs. Additionally, in 19 out of the 20 most common jobs for full-time women, men earn more. Women are twice more likely than their male counterparts to be employed in jobs with poverty wages, such as cashiers, waiters and waitresses, and maids and household cleaners, which are three of the most common jobs for women. The numbers become even more striking when examined by race. Latina women earn about $518 per week in median earnings, which is slightly over half of the median weekly earnings for white men. Black women earn more than Latina women, with median weekly earnings of about $595. Interestingly, the wage gaps between men and women are smaller among Latino and Black populations than they are for Asian and white populations, as illustrated by Table 2.

Report Shows Annual Wages in Largest Occupations Relatively Low

A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that in May 2010, most of the largest occupations--as measured by the number of people who hold those occupations--were low-paying when compared with the national annual wage average. The BLS Editor's Desk writes: "Of the 15 largest occupations, only general and operations managers, registered nurses, and elementary school teachers (except special education) had average wages above the U.S. all-occupations average of $44,410 annually."

General and operation managers earned an annual average of $113,100; registered nurses $67,720; and elementary school teachers, excluding special education, earned an annual average of $54,300. On the bottom end of the average annual wages among the 15 largest occupations were food preparation and serving workers, including fast food ($18,610); cashiers ($19,810); and waiters and waitresses ($20,790). These last three were among the lowest paying of all occupational groups, regardless of size.

NH cf

Retail Salespersons and Cashiers Made Up Largest Occupations in 2010

An article from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Editor's Desk revealed that retail salespersons and cashiers were the occupations with the highest employment in May 2010. Together, these two occupations made up nearly 6 percent of total U.S. employment in 2010, and the ten largest occupations comprised more than 20 percent of employment. Other prominent occupations included "general office clerks; combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food; registered nurses; and waiters and waitresses."

Among larger groupings of occupations, office and administrative support jobs were the most significant, making up 17% of total employment. Following that were "sales and related occupations and food preparation and serving related occupations, which made up about 11 and 9 percent of U.S. employment, respectively." The article drew its information from a larger BLS report.

NH cf