By Trends Staff
Based on data, we know the "typical" U.S. male worker earns more than the "typical" U.S. female worker employed in the same occupation. What is typical? What can drilling deeper into a variety of different occupations and educational attainment levels tell us? Looking at the gender income gap occupation by occupation might be very time consuming and tedious. However, data visualizations and dashboards provide the ability to sift through mounds of data quickly.
Men & Women, Money & Work, a feature in the U.S. Census Bureau Interactive Gallery, estimates different annual incomes of full-time, year-round workers, aged 25-years and older based on gender. Further detail includes the gender pay gap by occupation, occupation group, occupation size, education level, and by the share of women in a particular occupation.
The dashboard offers a variety of detail, such as income differences of women and men based on occupation, occupation group, occupation size, education level, and by the share of women in a particular occupation.
The U.S. Census reports during 2016, overall, women workers earned about 80 cents for every one-dollar men earned employed in the same occupation. While the overall disparity is clear, Men & Women, Money & Work also shows the income disparity exists within nearly all occupation groups.
According to Men & Women, Money & Work, during 2016, the median earnings of women were higher than men in just four occupation groups: roofers (1.2%), mining machine operators (0.8%); telecommunications line installers and repairers (3.7%); first-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other (25.9%). Represented by the low percentages in the parentheses, the share of male workers in each of these four occupation groups dwarfed the share of female workers.
Yet even female dominated occupations such a registered nurses (87.7%); nurse practitioners (87.9%); secretaries and administrative assistants (94.8%); and elementary and middle school teachers (77.6%), in these fields, women earn roughly 92%, 90%, 83%, and 94%, respectively, of their male counterparts.
Earning a college degree increases employment opportunities, corresponding with higher income potential and better benefit packages. While also opening new career paths, unfortunately, earning a bachelor’s degree increases the income disparity of women to their male counterparts.
Men & Women, Money & Work, during 2016, women with a bachelor’s degree earned about 74 cents for every one-dollar earned by men employed in the same occupation.
Men & Women, Money & Work is a great example of how data visualizations can help streamline through mounds of data. Alternatively, if someone would like to drill deeper at a little slower pace, the mounds of data behind this visualization are available as well.