The gender wage gap is real, people, and we collegiettes have had enough of it. Women of every ethnicity and education level in the U.S. are paid less than men, earning about 76 cents for every dollar paid to a man. That means, on average, women miss out on more than $10,000 a year, and that wage gap only gets worse as women climb career ladders. What do we say to this, ladies? How about a big fat ‘NO’?
Even though we’ve been fuming about how degrading the wage gap is since 1963, it still exists, and it’s something millennials should be aware of when considering their careers. Here are the best and worst jobs for equal pay, based on the most recent study by Glassdoor in 2016.
Worst
1. Computer Programmer, -28.3 percent pay difference
Occupations involving computer science, hardware and software engineering have always been male-dominated. Still, the lack of female numbers is no excuse for the fact that women in this field earn approximately 72 cents for every $1 earned by men, officially placing as the worst career for equal pay. Ladies, we’ve got some work to do.
Ellen Ullman, a female computer programmer, published an article in The New York Times on how it feels to be a woman in computer software. She says, “There is always that cheek-slapped moment when you are alone with the anti-women prejudice: the joke, the leer, the disregard, the invisibility, the inescapable fact that the moment you walk through the door you are seen as lesser, no matter what your credentials.” Clearly, the tech industries’ jobs have a gender problem.
It becomes all the more frustrating when you realize how well-compensated the employees––well, at least the bros––are and that women are missing out on those $10,000 bonuses and free ski trips. Women deserve not only equal pay in science and technical fields, but also the opportunity to hold leadership roles at programming companies. In the words of our queen Beyoncé, girls run the world––so they should be running tech companies, too.
2. Chef, -28.1 percent pay difference
Kitchens, what are you doing? Sadly, female chefs earn 72 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn. Yes, women typically make up a low percentage of kitchen staff—unless they’re in the pastry business—but that doesn't excuse their $20,000 annual loss across all job titles in this career path.
Anne Taylor, who works in the food and restaurant industry, wrote about her experience as a female chef on Refinery29. “During my years in the industry, I witnessed women and minorities who had been in the industry for a decade making $3 to $4 less per hour than white male coworkers who had just been hired to do the exact same job. It didn’t get any better when I moved into a managerial role. Men I worked with — including those with much less experience — were making several dollars more an hour than I was. When I was promoted to head pastry chef, I discovered a man hired to assist me made more than I did.”
If you’re going to tell a woman to make you a sandwich, shouldn’t she at least be fairly compensated for it?
Related:11 Feminist Careers You Never Knew Existed
3. Dentist, -28.1 percent pay difference
Think about the last time you went to the dentist’s office. You probably walked in, were greeted by a female receptionist, had a female dental assistant clean your teeth and waited for your male dentist to come in and do a less-than-five-minute check before giving you a free toothbrush. There aren’t a lot of female dentists in this industry (most of them work as dental assistants). Since they have equal education and training, they should definitely be making an equal wage instead of the demeaning 72 cents for every dollar male dentists receive.
“I settled for being a dental assistant when I was in school almost 30 years ago, and now my daughter is in school realizing she should go for the rout of a hygienist too,” says Vicki Walker, a dental assistant in Temecula, California, at her husband, Edward Walker’s office. “You don’t make bad money as a hygienist, you get more interaction with the patients and you aren’t having to compete with men that work next door. Unless you can open your own private practice, being a woman and a dentist is pointless because you aren’t making that much more money, and you’ve got more school bills.”
Even though progress on this issue has been painfully slow, know that by advocating for equal wages, vocalizing the salary you want or starting your own private practice, you bridge the wage gap, woman by woman.
Best
1. Event Coordinator, +0.2 percent pay difference
Even though the wage gap seems bleak, don’t worry, ladies––a few industries are leading by example in the equal pay department. For every dollar earned by a male event coordinator, women earn the same dollar, which makes event management a field with total equality. It’s also diverse in the sense that there are countless types of events to manage, which means that whatever your specialization, men and women can both act in leadership roles.
“I offer wedding consultation and wedding planning, and for this type of event management I’m mainly competing with other women and we’re all making the same,” says Mindy Kim, a wedding planner in Temecula, California. “What’s comforting is I know the guys in this same area who plan tech conferences and even two male wedding events specialists are making the same as me. You never see that happen it feels like, where both sexes are payed equally and get the same chance to be in charge.”
We’re thrilled to hear that such a fun and sought-after job lends itself to equal opportunity. Take note, collegiettes––this could definitely be the career for you.
Related:7 Daily Habits of Wildly Successful Women
2. Logistics Manager, +0.4 percent pay difference
Logistics managers get the fun side of retail. They’re in charge of warehousing, transportation and monitoring the flow of goods from warehouses to their designated locations, but even better, they get a job packed with equal pay. Male and female logistics managers make nearly the same dollar, proving that it’s not just a man’s career.
“There’s misconceptions that monitoring supply is male-dominated, but now nearly half of the industry is populated by women, I would say,” says Charlene Keller, a sales executive at Choptank transport. “Doing this, I get to be in an executive position, and that’s a privilege that doesn’t happen everywhere. I get equal pay and joy from my work.”
Supply chain management may not be the first career that comes to mind for you business mavens, but anything that guarantees equality is something we can totally get behind!
3. Food Services Professional, +0.4 percent pay difference
While you may not get equal pay working as a chef, you can definitely get equal pay working as the manager of a restaurant. Not only do women and men earn the same dollar, but you get to be in charge of the cooks and overall direction of the kitchen, so who wouldn’t want that? Sounds like a step up to us.
“I started out working as an equal alongside men, and that’s continued to this day for me,” says Kelly Piper, the resident district manager for Bon Appetit in Palo Alto, California. “I feel like my bachelor's degree is worth the same as my male colleagues, and I’ve always been treated as such.”
We are so excited that careers exist where women earn the pay they deserve, but there’s still work to do since unequal pay affects too many of our own, and men too. A wage gap in either direction is not what we want because as feminists we advocate for equality, no matter how gratifying it is to know that somewhere out there women are at the top of the food chain. Know that there are concrete ways everyone can advocate to end the wage gap, and one day we will see it happen.