New PayScale Research Reveals Unequal Access to High Paying Jobs is at the Root of the Gender Pay Gap Problem

SEATTLE, March 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, PayScale, Inc., the leader in modern compensation data and software, released The State of the Gender Pay Gap in 2019 which provides an in-depth examination into specific drivers of gender pay inequity. The new research shows that each woman experiences the disparity of the gender pay gap in different ways depending upon her race, education, age—and even geography.

This year’s report goes beyond simply comparing compensation for all women against all men and deeply examines pay inequity to highlight the Opportunity Gap; the reality that women with comparable skills, experience and education – are not advancing in their careers at the same velocity as men. The report reveals that only 3 percent of women become executives, compared to 8 percent of men, showing that women face barriers which keep them in lower-level, lower-paid, individual-contributor positions.

“The ongoing conversation about gender pay is really a call to action for employers to provide equal access to the best-paying positions in their organizations,” said PayScale Vice President Lydia Frank. “Our research shows the gender pay gap is multifaceted with many different factors contributing to pay inequity. As a result, every woman experiences the gender pay gap differently depending on her unique abilities and identities. Working toward a deeper understanding of these elements and developing a process for mitigating biases that exist are the best ways for employers to establish equitable earning potential at their organization. That means being proactive, looking at data regularly and being holistic in your approach.”

Here are further detailed findings from The State of the Gender Pay Gap in 2019:

• The gender pay gap, today – In 2019, women overall earn 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. This is the uncontrolled pay gap which measures median salary for all men and women regardless of job type, seniority, location, industry, years of experience, etc. This reflects a 1 percent improvement from 2018. By contrast, the controlled pay gap measures pay for men and women with the same job and qualifications. In 2019, the controlled pay gap shows a woman earns 98 cents for every dollar earned by an equivalent male peer. Yet, this still does not paint the whole picture.
• Women of color earn even less –Black, Hispanic and Alaska Native women experience a very significant pay gap, earning just 74 cents for every dollar earned by a White man. The gap increases with seniority, as Black women executives earn only 63 cents for every dollar earned by a White male executive. When controlling for employees with similar qualifications, Black women make 97 cents for every dollar a White man earns. By contrast, the report revealed that Asian women actually make 2 percent more than White men with the same compensable factors.
• Highly educated women experience a larger pay gap – Another significant finding is that women with MBAs face a significant disparity in pay; taking home just 74 cents for every dollar earned by men with MBAs. This suggests that women and men with MBAs have very different job titles or work in different industries and that women with advanced degrees are often under-utilized and under-compensated.
• The gender gap widens with age – Women aged 20-29 have the smallest pay gap and women aged 45 and older experience the largest inequity. This older group of women earns just 70 cents for every dollar earned by men of the same age, suggesting that women don’t experience the same promotion velocity into higher paying, senior management or executive jobs as men do.
• Women more likely to feel underpaid – Women are far less likely to “feel” they are fairly compensated than their male colleagues. Fifty-two percent of White women and 55 percent of Black women said they do not feel they are fairly paid, compared to 44 percent of White men.
• Gender pay gaps by state – Alabama and Louisiana continue to have the largest gender pay gap in the U.S. with women making roughly 27 percent and 25 percent less than men, respectively. Vermont is America’s most equitable state with women earning 13 percent less than men.
• Gender pay gaps in tech – Men and women holding the same jobs with the same qualifications are almost paid the same in the technology industry. However, more men hold higher-paying jobs in tech and women comprise just 29 percent of all employees in this industry.

“Some steps, including legislation, have been taken to ensure businesses are paying women fairly and, in many cases, workers themselves are demanding change from their employers. In today’s tight labor market, employers cannot ignore potential wage and opportunity gaps at their organizations and expect to attract and retain the best talent. Most people want to do the right thing, but actively addressing pay equity issues is as much a business imperative as it is a moral one,” Frank adds.

To further the discussion and make actionable progress on pay equity in the workplace, PayScale will host an Equal Power Day event at its headquarters on April 2, 2019. The event will feature roundtable working sessions with local business leaders, HR professionals and influencers designed to move away from a one-size-fits-all, high-level discussion about pay equity, and instead cultivate real tactics that can be implemented within organizations.  PayScale will also be launching a Pay Equity Hub on the company website as a resource for employers.

Between January 2017 and February 2019, PayScale studied a sample of nearly 1.8 million people who took PayScale’s online salary survey. This sample provided the data and insights for The State of the Gender Pay Gap in 2019.  To view the full report, please visit: https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap

About PayScale
PayScale offers modern compensation software and the most precise, real-time, data-driven insights for employees and employers alike. More than 8,000 customers, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, use PayScale to power pay decisions for more than 23 million employees. These companies include Encana, Patagonia, The New York Times, Sunsweet, T-Mobile, United Health Group, Wendy's and Perry Ellis. For more information, please visit: https://www.payscale.com/ or follow PayScale on Twitter: https://twitter.com/payscale.

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