Which Industries Have the Highest Gender Pay Gaps? By Dan Atkerson on November 22, 2020

Employment laws make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of gender. Despite these laws, it is widely known that gender pay gaps exist, with women making significantly less, on average, than their male counterparts.

While female workers in Allen, TX, Plano, TX, Frisco, TX, and surrounding areas are likely to encounter the gender pay gap, the degree to which they experience it may vary based on their line of work. Here, employment lawyer Dan A. Atkerson presents the 10 industries that have the highest gender pay gaps.

Tracking the Gender Pay Gap by Industry

PayScale has recently released their Gender Pay Gap Report for 2020. PayScale calculates the uncontrolled, or “raw,” gender gap, which looks at the median male and female salary within a job industry regardless of job title or seniority, as well as the controlled gender gap, which takes these factors into account.

According the PayScale’s findings, the 10 industries that have the highest gender pay gap are:

Finance and insurance - The finance and insurance industry has the largest uncontrolled gender pay gap by a significant margin - $0.76 to the dollar. The controlled gender gap in this industry is $0.98 earned by females for every dollar earned by males.
Agencies and consultancies - Agencies and consultancies are not too far behind the finance and insurance industry. In this field, the controlled gender gap is $0.99 to the dollar, while the uncontrolled gender gap is $0.81 to the dollar.
Retail and customer service - The retail and customer service industry has one of the larger controlled pay gaps, with women making $0.97 for every dollar earned by a man. Their uncontrolled pay gap is even larger, with women earning $0.83 to the dollar.
Healthcare - Like the retail and customer service industry, the uncontrolled pay gap in the healthcare industry is $0.83 to the dollar. However, the controlled pay gap is better than the retail industry, with women earning $0.99 for every dollar earned by a man.
Transportation and warehousing - In transportation and warehousing the controlled pay gap is $0.97 to the dollar, while the uncontrolled pay gap is $0.84 to the dollar. However, it is interesting to note that women hold just 25 percent of the jobs within this industry.
Energy and utilities - Women working in the energy and utilities industry can expect to make $0.85 for every dollar made by men, based on the uncontrolled pay gap. The controlled pay gap within the industry is much smaller, with women earning $0.97 to the dollar. However, as with the transportation industry, female representation in the energy and utilities industry is low, with women making up just 18 percent of the jobs.
Engineering and science - The engineering and science industry is one of the few to achieve equal pay under controlled conditions. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled pay gap is $0.85 to the dollar.
Accommodation and food services - Women in the accommodation and food services make, on average, $0.87 to the dollar, while the controlled pay gap sits at $0.97 to the dollar.
Nonprofits - The controlled pay gap for women in the nonprofit industry is $0.98 to the dollar, while the uncontrolled pay gap is $0.87 to the dollar.
Manufacturing - Women in the manufacturing industry face the same pay gaps as those in the nonprofit field - $0.98 controlled and $0.87 uncontrolled.

What Can I Do about the Gender Gap?

The gender pay gap is a clear example of wage discrimination. If a woman suspects that she is making less than her male counterparts for no other reason than gender discrimination, she should speak with an employment lawyer, such as Dan A. Atkerson. Mr. Atkerson can help women explore their right to financial compensation for wage discrimination damages, which may include past wages.

Contact Us

If you have a suspected case of wage discrimination that you’d like to discuss with attorney Dan A. Atkerson, we encourage you to get in touch at your earliest convenience. You can send us a message online, or call our practice at (214) 383-3606.