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.- Facts onWorl{ing

Women

U.S. Department of Labor
Women's Bureau

UIS COUNTY LIBRARY
DEPOSITORY
No. 93-5
December 1993

MAR O41994

0336A
EARNINGS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN
What is the earnings gap?
When we talk of comparing
women's earnings with
men's earnings, we find that
no matter how we measure
them, women's earnings are
below those received by
Very often men's
men.
earnings are used as the
"yardstick" to measure
women 's, and we say
women's earnings are a
percentage of men's . The
earnings gap is the
difference between this
percentage ratio and 100
percent.

ANNUAL EAR NINGS FOR WOM EN AN D MEN
1 95 1- 19 92

32 , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,
30

28
26
24
22
20
18
VJ

~
__J

8
1-

16
14

10
8

(.)

6
4
2

YEAR

How large are the earnings
differences? In 1992 for Figure 1
those receiving hourly rates ,
women's median hourly
earnings were 79.4 percent of men's; for fulltime wage and salary workers, women's
median weekly earnings were 75 .4 percent of
men's ; and median annual earnings for
women were 70.6 percent of men's annual
earnings in 1992 , the most recent year for
which data are available . Of course , the
earnings gap for hourly earnings is 20.6
percent; for weekly earnings , 24.6 percent;
and for annual earnings , 29. 4 percent. All
three measures are developed from Current

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WOMEN

MEN

Population Survey (household survey) data and
released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) and the Bureau of the Census.
Why the difference among measures? We
find the three measures which compare
women's earnings with men ' s earnings differ
for several reasons. Median weekly earnings
and median annual earnings relate to full-time
wage and salary workers while hourly
earnings are reported for wage and salary

workers who are paid an hourly wage, without
regard to whether or not they are full-time or
year-round wage and salary workers . About
60 percent of all wage and salary workers are
hourly workers; almost 55 percent of all
employed American workers are paid hourly
wages; and 50 percent of all employees paid
hourly wages are women.

their annual earnings held steady during the
recessionary period .
When we look at the 41-year period as a
whole , women's earnings have increased by
1.3 percent each year while men's earnings
have grown by only 1.1 percent.
Though annual earnings for women and men
have been available from the CPS since 1951,
hourly and weekly wages by gender have been
calculated only since 1979 . Table 1 presents
the percentage ratios of women 's earnings to
men's earnings for median hourly and weekly
earnings along with median annual earnings
for comparison. The hourly and weekly ratios
were prepared by BLS , and the annual ratios,
by Census.

When considering the earnings of full-time
year-round women and men , it should be
noted that women are employed fewer hours
in the week and fewer weeks in the year than
their male counterparts. Less time on the job
contributes to the earnings difference when
women's weekly and annual earnings are
compared with men's.
Are we closing the earnings gap?

Table 1. Women's earnings as a percent
of men's , 1979-1992

Figure 1 provides perspective on annual
earnings adjusted for inflation for women and
men working full-time year-round from 1951
through 1992. A gradual closing of the wage
gap between women and men since 1973 is
apparent in Figure 1. Full-time year-round
workers have different characteristics from
other workers.
Estimates of median annual earnings in
constant dollars, with 1982-1984 used as the
base years, were constructed using the BLS
CPI-U to adjust for inflation.
Figure 1
outlines the relatively steady climb in women's
real earnings while men's earnings peaked in
1973 and have drifted downward since.
Recessionary dips appear in both women's and
men's earnings in the early 1980's , while the
recessionary period in 1990-1991 shows an
increase in men's earnings compared with
women's earnings. This unexpected change
occurred because more low-wage earning men
lost their jobs in the recession, leaving a
larger proportion of men with higher earnings
in the work force. With fewer low-wage
earners, the estimate of earnings for men rose
as employment of men declined . Women did
not experience similar employment losses , and

Hourly

Weekly

Annual

1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992

64.1
64 .8
65.1
67 .3
69.4
69.8
70.0
70.2
72 .1
73 .8
75.4
76.8
77.5
79.4

62 .5
64.4
64.6
65.4
66.7
67.8
68.2
69.2
70.0
70 .2
70.1
71. 8
74 .0
75.4

59.7
60.2
59.2
61.7
63 .6
63.7
64.6
64.3
65.2
66.0
68.7
71.6
69.9
70.6

Figures 2 through 4 present data in constant
dollars , adjusted for inflation for full-time
wage and salary workers , by age and
race/gender groups from 1979-1992 . The
graphs show a steady downward trend with a
closing together of real earnings for all
race/gender groups 16-24 years old. In this
2

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Year

age group, white women's
earnings exceeded black
men's earnings in 1982 and
continued at higher levels
through 1992. For those
~
25-54 years old, white and
z:
a:
Lli
black men's earnings have
>gradually moved down
~
while white women's
z:
~
earnings have gradually
lj
risen, exceeding black
a:
<
men's earnings in 1991.
~
Black women's earnings
~
<
have remained relatively
~
u
stable. Historically , black
men had earnings higher
than white women , but for
workers under 55 their
positions were reversed in
the decade of the 80's. For
those 55 or older, there has Figure 2
been little change in the
relative positions of the
various race/gender groups
in the 13-year period. It
appears that older workers ,
in general, have not
experienced the downward
pressure on earnings that
younger workers have.
ig

EAR N INGS OF 16-24 YEAR OLDS
BY SEX AND RAC E/ ETHNIC TYPE

:500

4 00

.J
).L

3 00

:---

200

...J

I-

:.==:= i-~

100

In the face of gains made
by women in many areas,
why is change in the
earnings ratio so slow?

~
Lli
>.J

0
1983
19 80
□

WH I TE ME N

19 8 6

'\VH I TE 'WOMEN

HI SPANI C ME N

◊

19 9

1987

19 5
19 84

198 2

19 8

B LACI:: MEN

1 991
1 992

1990
BLACI:: 'WOMEN

H I SPANI C WOMEN

EAR N I NGS OF 25 -5 4 YEAR OLDS
BY SEX AND RACE/ ETHNIC TYPE

:500 ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

400

).L

~
z:

3 00

b--,!,

Researchers have suggested
a:
<
that the wages of all
d
working women did not
~
<
increase relative to those of
z:
u
working men between 1920
and 1980 because the skill
(as measured by education
and experience) of working
women did not increase
relative to working men
over this period (Smith and Figure 3
Ward 1983). 1 The authors

...

6----c!,

s;r

'ii

200

IUl

100

0
1983
1980
□

WHITE MEN

+
X

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1982

1987

19 5
1984

1986

'\VH I TE 'WOMEN

H I SPAN IC MEN

19 9
19 8

BLACI:: MEN

HI SPA NI C WOMEN

1991
1990

BLACI:: 'WOMEN

1992

prepared estimates for the
time period 1920 through
EAR NINGS OF THOSE 55 - 0LO ER
1980 of the amount all
BY SEX AND RAC E/ ETHNIC TYPE
500 . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,
women would earn, based
on their education and work
experience, without regard
400
to whether or not they were
actually in the labor force.
300
These estimates were then
used to compare the
estimated wages of the
200
whole population of women
with the whole population of
~
<
100
men. The researchers
z
u
pointed out that the average
wages of the entire
1983
19 5
198 7
19 9
199 1
population of women, have
1984
1996
19 9
199 0
1992
1980
1992
increased much more
t.
+
H I SPA NIC WOMEN
rapidly than the entire
X
H I SPANI C MEN
population of men over the
60 years. The researchers Figure 4
estimated that "women's
wages grew 20 percent
compared with the earnings of men betwe·en
faster than men's wages" as women's work
1980 and 1991 , structural changes occurred
experience increased.
Smith and Ward
which caused women ' s earnings to rise
concluded that the rise in women's real wages
steeply. Sorensen conducted research into the
between 1950 and 1980 accounted for almost
60 percent in the growth of women's labor
differences in earnings ratios during the
1980's between women and men and between
force during the period. Incentives to work
black and white workers. 3 She identified two
are higher when wages are high; higher wages
divergent trends. "Women made tremendous
also tend to discourage larger families so that
gains in their wages relative to those of men"
women have more time for paid work.
while "The pay disparity between blacks and
whites increased for both women and men . "
Much of the discussion on earnings in the
Her research suggested that the human capital
1980's focused on the widening differences in
characteristics of women (education and work
earnings; this disparity occurred among both
experience) compared to men of the same race
women and men. But because women's
increased over the decade. Increases in work
hourly earnings grew faster than men's and
experience was more important in raising
because their annual average hours of work
women's earnings than changes in education ,
increased, while men's hours of work did not,
however. The occupational distribution of
a larger segment of all working women had
women and men also tended to converge. The
annual earnings of $20,000 or more at the end
wider gap in earnings between black and white
of the decade than at the beginning even when
men was related to changes in industrial
measured in constant dollars (Levi and
2
attachment and a change in the wage structure
Murnane, 1992).
during the l 980's which increased the returns
to education for white men.
When viewing the earnings of women
1(/J

WH I TE MEN

◊

WH I TE 'wOMEN

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BLACI:'. ME N

B L ACI:'. 'wOMEN

Another researcher (Bamezai 1989) in
discussing structural change in the l 980's
suggested that the widening disparity resulted
from both demand and supply changes in the
economy. 4 He indicated that technological
change required increasing skills in the U.S.
job market with education and vocational
training becoming more important.
"The
recent experience of technological change has
been qualitatively different from the historical
experience because of the central role played
by
microprocessor-based
information
technologies within and across industries." He
suggests that "The most important change in
the structure of wages has been the dramatic
rise in the price of skill (that is, schooling and
work experience) between 1973 and
1988 ... growth in the demand for highly skilled
labor has outstripped growth in its supply
resulting in an increase in the wage rate of
skilled workers; meanwhile , the demand for
relatively unskilled labor has fallen relative to
its supply, resulting in a decrease in the wage
rate of relatively unskilled workers."

in the U.S. during the decades of the 1970's
and 1980's. 5 Meisenheimer also indicates
that nearly one-fourth of immigrants age 25-64
had completed fewer than nine years of school
compared with only 3 percent of native born
women and 4 percent of native born men. As
further evidence of the impact of immigration,
the Census Bureau reported that "Nearly onefourth of the United States' nearly 20 million
foreign-born residents entered the country
between 1985 and 1990 according to
tabulations from the 1990 Census 6
11

•

Meisenheimer (see footnote 5) points out that
"Among employed men, immigrants who
moved to this country during the l 982- l 989
period were much more likely than natives to
work in occupations that are generally low
paying ... 19 percent of immigrants versus 9
percent of U.S. natives worked in service
occupations which included such jobs as food
preparation, child care, and janitorial
services. Thus , at the lower end of the skill
spectrum, significant numbers of poorly
educated recent immigrants may be competing
with native born black workers and other
minorities for jobs.
11

When looking for explanations of falling
wages for lower skilled workers, changes in
the characteristics in the work force brought
about by immigration in the last 20 years
become significant. Levi and Murnane (see
footnote 2) referred to the 1990 study by
Borjas , Freeman and Katz when they pointed
out that "Patterns of immigration also
contribute to a supply related explanation for
the increase in the earnings (associated with
education) ... because immigrants have less
formal education , on average , than do native
born Americans. For example, as of 1980,
46 .5 percent.. .of immigrants in the U .S had
less than a high school education, compared to
30 percent of native born Americans."

Which occupations have shown strong
growth in women's earnings relative t.o
men's?
The earnings ratio data are not

uniform among all occupations. In some
occupations women receive approximately
equal , or even greater , compensation than
their male coworkers in the same occupation.
Occupations with higher earning for women
than men are both nontraditional
(mechanics/repairers) and traditional (nurses)
occupations for women. Table 2 presents
women's median weekly earnings as a
proportion of men's for selected occupational
groups. The groups included in this table are
those in which national totals for women's
earnings were at least 90 percent of men's
earnings in 1992. Ratios are also presented for
1983 to show the recent trend in relative
earnings for women and men . Table 2 also

The 1989 Statistical Yearbook of the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service data
used by Meisenheimer in 1992 reports
increases of more than 10 million immigrants
who were granted permanent legal residence

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Table 2. Ratio of median weekly earnings for full-time working women to men
and ratio of women's employment to total employment ,
selected occupations, 1992 and 1983

Occupational class

Women's earnings
as a percent of men's
1992
1983

Women as a percent
of total employment
1992
1983

Total

75.4

66.7

43.1

40.4

99.5

93.5
42.7
76.0
53.9
75.7

94.4
27 .8
75.1
49.1
80.9

30.7
98 .5
79 .7
42.9
25 .2

20. 1
98.5
82 .0
32.2
14.3

48 .5
86.6
14.8
38.3
39.9

48.9
93.5
11.1
36.9
48 .8

87 .9
3.3
87.2
61.5
24.5
63.3

86.8
3.4
94 .0
64 .2
19.0
66.4

Registered nurses
Pharmacists
Therapists
Teachers, secondary school
Cashiers

104.7
90.1
95 .8
90.3
94.8

Scheduling supervisors/clerks
Secretaries , stenographers , typists
Records processing , except financial
Postal clerks, except mail carriers
Mail carriers, postal service

92 .9
9 1. 6
90.4
94.6
97 .0

Mail clerks, except postal service
Data-entry keyers
Guards/police, except public service
Waiters/waitresses assistants
Miscellaneous food occupations

93.2
95.0
94.2
97.2
105.6

Nurses aids, orderlies, attendants
Mechanics/repairers
Textile sewing machine operators
Packaging/filling machine operators
Stock handlers , baggers
Hand packers/packagers

96 .0
105 .4
91.9
90 .0
97.4
94.6

N.A .
N.A.
88.6
84.3

N.A .
76 .7
76 .2
93.4

N.A.
89.0

N.A.
91.2

N.A.
102 .5
81. 0
89.4

N.A.
78.5
91.9
91.6

N .A. = Not available. Earnings data are not developed for occupations with fewer than 50,000 employees .

presents
the
proportion of women ' s
employment to total employment for each
occupation.
In this context , individual
occupations which seem to fare well when
women's earnings are compared with men ' s
are not located in only "women's " work (those
occupations which have high proportions of
women's employment to total employment) or
"men's" jobs (those with high proportions of

employed men). Instead , these occupations
appear to occur throughout the whole
spectrum of jobs .
Histo rically , women have "crowded" into a
few occupations.
In 1992 the six most
prevalent occupations for women were, in
order of magnitude, secretaries, school
teachers (excluding those teaching in colleges
6

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EARNINGS AND EDUCATI ON
BY SEX/RACE/ETHNIC TYPE, 1992

1.1
1
0 .9

l/J

<l:

_j
_j

0 .8

0
0

0 .7

0
l/J

0.6

<t'.

(/)

0 .5

I-

0.4

l/J
(j

0 .3

<l:

0 .2

0.1
0

4 YRS HS/ NO

1- 3 YRS HS

WHITE MEN
X

DEG

COL/NO DEG

HS GRAD/ NO COL

WH ITE WOMEN

◊

HI SPAN I C MEN

BACH ELOR ·s

ASSOC I ATE

DOCTORAL

MASTER

BLACK MEN

·s

PROFESSIONAL

BLACK WOMEN

HI SPAN I C WOMEN

Figure 5

and universities and those teaching in
preschool and kindergarten), cashiers,
managers and administrators, registered
nurses, and bookkeepers and accounting
clerks. In 1992 more than one-third of all
full-time women workers were employed in
these occupations. It has been argued that
women choose these occupations because there
tends to be less skill obsolescence for workers
who leave and reenter the labor force. It has
also been argued that the educational
commitment for employment in these fields is

less than in some others , and workers can
have more time at home for other
responsibilities.
There may be other factors which are difficult
to measure that also affect women's career
decisions. To what extent have women been
denied the opportunity to find employment in
other occupations? Have they been fearful of
entering occupations where few women are
employed because of lack of knowledge about
the field , or fear that sexual harassment may
7

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women's earnings as a proportion of men's
earnings, particularly for younger women. 10
The SIPP provides data for women and men
with no work interruptions (defined as 6
months or more without a job or business) by
age and educational attainment. For young
women, those 21 through 29 in 1984, the
earnings ratio of women to men was 80
percent or more, no matter how many years of
school had been completed. However, for
young women who have completed 4 years or
more of college, hourly earnings are 86
percent of the hourly earnings of their male
coworkers . The relationship between education
and earnings , particularly for young women,
deserves further attention .

be a factor? These are aspects which are
difficult to quantify.
However, Gupta
reported that "(research) results indicate that
sex differences in occupations are due both to
differences in preferences and to differences in
employer selection." 7
It should be remembered that occupational
segregation has been diminishing; there are far
fewer "women's" jobs and fewer "men's" jobs
than in earlier periods.
What other factors besides occupation affect
the earnings gap? It has been suggested also,

that seniority within the firm and in the job
has much to do with earnings of American
workers. If this is the case, then the work
have an
experience of the two groups will
impact on the earnings ratio of women to
men. In 1990 Topel stated that his "estimates
imply a very strong connection
between job seniority and wages in the typical
employment relationship: other things held
constant, 10 years of job seniority raises the
wage of the typical worker by over 25
percent." 8

A new BLS series which provides 1992 data
on the average weekly earnings of full-time
wage and salary workers by the level of
education received for different gender and
race groups is presented in Figure 5. It is
apparent from the graph that as education
increases, earnings also rise dramatically, at
least through the doctoral degree .
Turnover data for women and men have
shown higher rates for women than for men.
The recent change in women's labor force
participation tends to narrow the differences in
turnover rates between women and men with
a concurrent increase in women's earnings. It
was pointed out earlier that length of time on
the job, and the resulting seniority, increases
earnings; fewer turnovers tend to lengthen the
duration on the job.
Additionally, the
growing tendency of employers to provide
child care benefits , flexitime , and family leave
policies can further strengthen women's
opportunity to meet family responsibilities
with fewer work interruptions.

Data from the Survey of Income and Program
Participation (SIPP) showed that for all men ,
only 1. 6 percent of all potential work-years
were spent away from work while for women
workers, 14. 7 percent of all potential workyears were spent away from paid work. 9
Thus , women spend significantly more time
away from work and are apparently unable to
build the seniority that men achieve.
However, there has been a significant change
in women 's labor force participation since
World War II, particularly for women between
the ages of 25 and 54. Most women work
today, including mothers of small children.
As recently as 1975 BLS found sharp
differences in participation rates among
women classified by marital status and the
presence and age of children. This greater
participation is reflected in an increase in

Sex
discrimination still exists in the American
workplace , but the magnitude of its effect on
the earnings gap is hard to measure. Statistical
studies have successfully attempted to measure
What about sex discrimination?

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the effects on the male-female earnings
differential of several factors.
Employee
characteristics, such as occupation, education,
and experience, have been examined using
statistical techniques to assess the impact each
has on women's and men's earnings. Most
often the effects of discrimination in these
studies are included in an "all other" category
and are not measured separately. However,
individuals and Federal agencies responsible
for enforcement of civil rights legislation
continue to win cases in which women have
been discriminated against in the workplace,
thus demonstrating that sex discrimination
As an example, in 1992 sex
persists.
discrimination was proved in one of the largest
of these cases ever settled. 11

What can we conclude? It appears that
women's earnings are slowly climbing when
compared with men's earnings, as women's
participation in the labor force continues to
move closer and closer to the pattern shown
by men, and as their educational investment
and occupational choices also become more
Employers' continuing
similar to men's.
efforts to provide more training and promotion
opportunities for women will help to diminish
the difference between women's and men's
earnings. Employers also appear to recognize
the need to help families balance conflicting
needs. The earnings gap should continue to
narrow as women work more hours in the
week, spend more years at paid work in their
lifetimes, continue to increase their educational
investment, widen their occupational choices,
and equal opportunity becomes a reality.

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FOOTNOTES:
1

James P. Smith and Michael P. Ward,
"Women's Wages and Work in the Twentieth
Century," RAND Corporation, October 1984.

Nabanita Datta Gupta, "Probabilities of Job
Choice and Employer Selection and MaleFemale Occupational Differences" , American
Economic Review , Vol. 83 , No. 2, May
1993.

Frank Levi and Richard J. Murnane, "U.S.
Earnings Levels and Earnings Inequality: A
Review of Recent Trends and Proposed
Explanations," Journal of Economic
Literature, Vol. XXX (September 1992), pp.
1333-1381.

Robert Topel, "Specific Capital , Mobility
and Wages : Wages Rise with Job Seniority",
Working Paper No. 3294, National Bureau of
Economic Research, Inc., 1990.

Elaine Sorensen, "Gender and Racial Pay
Gaps in the 1980's: Accounting for Different
Trends," Urban Institute, Washington, D.C.,
1991.

Anil Bamezai, "Rising Earnings Disparity
and Technological Change" RAND
Corporation, 1989 dissertation.

Joseph R. Meisenheimer II, "How do
immigrants fare in the U.S. labor market?",
Monthly Labor Review, December 1992.
6

U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics
and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the
Census, "Monthly News From the U.S.
Bureau of the Census , Census and You" ,
Vol.28, No.2, February 1993.

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U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current
Population Reports, Series P-70, No. 10,
Male-Female Differences in Work Experience,
Occupation , and Earnings: 1984, U.S.
Government Printing Office , Washington,
D.C. , 1987.
10

Susan E. Shank , "Women and the labor
market: the link grows stronger," Monthly
Labor Review, March 1988, pp. 3-8.
11

Kraszewski v. State Farm, DC No Calif.
No. C79-1261TEH, April 28, 1992.

Full text of Facts on Working Women : Earning Differences Between Women and Men, No. 93-5

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