The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a federal law that prohibits pay discrimination on the basis of gender. The EPA is an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act and was enacted to rectify pay inequity between men and women who perform the same job duties. As well-intentioned as that law is, the fight for gender pay equity in the workplace is an ongoing struggle. (These are the worst states for women.)
To determine the highest paying jobs for women, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the median wage for over 180 occupations with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey program. Occupations were ranked based on the median annual wage for full-time female workers in 2020. To determine the gender pay gap, we also reviewed median wages for full-time male workers in the same occupations in 2020, also from the BLS.
According to the website PayScale, the uncontrolled gender pay gap is 82 cents for every $1 men earn, and the controlled gender pay gap is 99 cents for every $1 that men earn. The controlled gender pay compares what women and men earn when all compensable factors are accounted for: job title, education, experience, industry, job level, and hours worked. This is equal pay for equal work and it should be zero.
There are many reasons why women earn less than men, chief among them is the perception, sometimes unconsciously, that values women’s work less than man’s work. In addition, there is the so-called “motherhood penalty,” where women who return to work after having children incur a wage penalty.
In addition, many of the fields where the majority of workers are female are low paying. Another reason often cited for the gender wage gap is the so-called glass ceiling, the invisible barrier in the workplace that prevents women from having access to higher up positions. (Here are the 16 metro areas where young women make more than men.)
The impact of COVID-19 has been a major factor on women’s employment. According to a study by the U.S. Census Bureau, in July 2020, one in five working-age adults said that the reason they were not working was because the pandemic had caused a disruption of child care arrangements. Of those not working, women were nearly three times as likely as men to not be employed because of child care demands.
Female workers occupy a higher percentage of eight of the 25 jobs on the list yet are still paid less than male workers. The job of medical scientist has the largest gender pay gap with women earning only 59.7% of what men earn in the field. In 13 of the 25 positions listed, female workers earn just 80% or more of what male workers earn, and they earn 90% or more in six. In the rest of the fields (12) female workers earn less than 80% of what male workers do.
Click here to see the 25 highest-paying jobs for women that still pay men more
Click here to see our detailed methodology
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25. Market research analysts and marketing specialists
> Annual earnings, women: $66,352
> Annual earnings, men: $90,636
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 73.2%
> Number of female workers: 200 (59.7% of workforce)
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24. General and operations managers
> Annual earnings, women: $66,820
> Annual earnings, men: $80,496
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 83.0%
> Number of female workers: 361 (36.1% of workforce)
Source: fizkes / iStock via Getty Images
23. Sales managers
> Annual earnings, women: $69,888
> Annual earnings, men: $99,320
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 70.4%
> Number of female workers: 150 (30.0% of workforce)
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22. Producers and directors
> Annual earnings, women: $70,044
> Annual earnings, men: $79,144
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 88.5%
> Number of female workers: 61 (43.9% of workforce)
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21. Purchasing managers
> Annual earnings, women: $70,876
> Annual earnings, men: $83,824
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 84.6%
> Number of female workers: 97 (45.3% of workforce)
Source: sturti / Getty Images
20. Medical and health services managers
> Annual earnings, women: $70,876
> Annual earnings, men: $92,196
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 76.9%
> Number of female workers: 515 (76.2% of workforce)
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19. Medical scientists
> Annual earnings, women: $71,136
> Annual earnings, men: $119,132
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 59.7%
> Number of female workers: 59 (50.9% of workforce)
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18. Financial managers
> Annual earnings, women: $71,344
> Annual earnings, men: $98,020
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 72.8%
> Number of female workers: 681 (55.8% of workforce)
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17. Operations research analysts
> Annual earnings, women: $73,216
> Annual earnings, men: $92,196
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 79.4%
> Number of female workers: 67 (53.2% of workforce)
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16. Education and childcare administrators
> Annual earnings, women: $73,372
> Annual earnings, men: $96,564
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 76.0%
> Number of female workers: 540 (63.1% of workforce)
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15. Computer systems analysts
> Annual earnings, women: $73,528
> Annual earnings, men: $80,912
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 90.9%
> Number of female workers: 157 (37.1% of workforce)
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14. Personal financial advisors
> Annual earnings, women: $74,048
> Annual earnings, men: $113,516
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 65.2%
> Number of female workers: 154 (39.6% of workforce)
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13. Management analysts
> Annual earnings, women: $75,452
> Annual earnings, men: $98,124
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 76.9%
> Number of female workers: 323 (45.7% of workforce)
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12. Project management specialists
> Annual earnings, women: $75,660
> Annual earnings, men: $96,772
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 78.2%
> Number of female workers: 321 (43.7% of workforce)
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11. Physical therapists
> Annual earnings, women: $76,856
> Annual earnings, men: $80,652
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 95.3%
> Number of female workers: 129 (63.5% of workforce)
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10. Postsecondary teachers
> Annual earnings, women: $77,116
> Annual earnings, men: $85,956
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 89.7%
> Number of female workers: 460 (50.0% of workforce)
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9. Marketing managers
> Annual earnings, women: $77,480
> Annual earnings, men: $88,296
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 87.8%
> Number of female workers: 309 (63.1% of workforce)
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8. Civil engineers
> Annual earnings, women: $79,612
> Annual earnings, men: $86,372
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 92.2%
> Number of female workers: 69 (17.1% of workforce)
Source: serts / E+ via Getty Images
7. Industrial engineers, including health and safety
> Annual earnings, women: $81,692
> Annual earnings, men: $89,700
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 91.1%
> Number of female workers: 60 (27.1% of workforce)
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6. Financial and investment analysts
> Annual earnings, women: $83,564
> Annual earnings, men: $95,524
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 87.5%
> Number of female workers: 137 (43.8% of workforce)
Source: nd3000 / iStock via Getty Images
5. Computer programmers
> Annual earnings, women: $87,204
> Annual earnings, men: $90,584
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 96.3%
> Number of female workers: 79 (20.4% of workforce)
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4. Software developers
> Annual earnings, women: $95,680
> Annual earnings, men: $103,584
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 92.4%
> Number of female workers: 369 (19.7% of workforce)
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3. Chief executives
> Annual earnings, women: $99,008
> Annual earnings, men: $141,492
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 70.0%
> Number of female workers: 348 (30.2% of workforce)
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2. Computer and information systems managers
> Annual earnings, women: $99,216
> Annual earnings, men: $111,020
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 89.4%
> Number of female workers: 184 (27.3% of workforce)
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1. Lawyers
> Annual earnings, women: $99,424
> Annual earnings, men: $129,740
> Women’s earnings as pct. of men’s: 76.6%
> Number of female workers: 331 (41.7% of workforce)
Methodology
To determine the highest paying jobs for women, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the median wage for over 180 detailed occupations with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey program. Occupations were ranked based on the median annual wage for full-time female workers in 2020. Annual wages were calculated by multiplying the median weekly wage by 52 weeks. To determine the gender pay gap, we also reviewed median wages for full-time male workers in the same occupations, also from the BLS.
Data on employment by gender also came from the BLS. All data is for 2020, the most recent period available. Occupations defined as miscellaneous, or those that represent the remainder of a broader category of occupation, e.g. “managers, all other” were excluded from consideration.
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