A recent survey conducted by the job site 6FigureJobs.com claims that 78% of executives surveyed believe that there is a disparity in salaries paid to men and women, wherein women are paid less than men in comparable positions. The survey participants represent a standard distribution of many levels of executive workers, but with a 3:1 male to female ratio.
Other studies have had similar findings. According to another 2005 survey performed by the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was found that women's average weekly earnings were typically 81% of those received by their male counterparts.
The width of the gap also depends on industry, another finding shared by both studies. The largest gap exists in the construction and manufacturing industries, where over 25% of the highest earning men work. Only 10% of the highest earning women were to be found in either industry. The gap is most narrow in the health, education and professional/business/financial services industries, in which 60% of the highest earning women could be found.
Not only does the gap still remain, but figures also suggest that it may in fact be getting wider. According to 2004 US census data, women's earnings decreased roughly 0.6% from 2002 to 2003. These reports maintain that women earn $0.75 for every dollar earned by men. The 2002-2003 decrease represents the largest increase in the ratio since 1991, helping prove that the problem of the salary gap remains real and very much an issue.
