Survey: Gender gap wider in top-paying jobs

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CHICAGO, April 25 (UPI) -- The balance of genders among top professions leans heavily toward men but women are making strides forward, U.S. employment firm CareerBuilder said.

"While employers have made strides in equalizing compensation for both genders, historical gaps are still present in some organizations today," Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources at CareerBuilder said in a statement.

"Also contributing to the disparity in income levels is a higher representation of men working in more lucrative occupations. Fortunately, we're starting to see that balance out as women account for a larger percentage of the overall workforce and pursue employment in high-paying areas," she said.

A CareerBuilder survey indicated that four of 15 top-paying jobs are dominated by women. Among oral and maxillofacial surgeons and among orthodontists, 57 percent are women. Among prosthodontists, 62 percent are women. And 66 percent of pharmacists are women, the survey indicated.

Among physicians and surgeons the gender disparity is modest with 45 percent women and 55 percent men. Among dentists, it is close with 49 percent women.

But in most top-tier jobs, men have most of the positions. Among chief executive officers, 83 percent are men, for example.

Men also comprise 97 percent of engineering managers, 77 percent of computer and information systems managers, 72 percent of natural science managers and 90 percent of air traffic controllers.

Men dominate the fields of petroleum engineers, marketing managers, airline pilots, lawyers and general managers' positions.

Women dominate in the fields of registered nurse -- 96 percent women -- and psychiatry, 62 percent of psychiatrists are women.

The survey indicated women make up 57 percent of anesthesiologists, 58 percent of pediatricians, 66 percent of probation officers and 70 percent of translators and interpreters.

Claims adjusters, industrial-organizational psychologists, public relations specialist, curators, graphic designers, editors and mathematical technicians are all mostly women, as are bartenders, 59 percent of whom are women, the survey said.

Where is there balance? There is an even split among political scientists, advertising and promotions managers and school bus drivers.

There is only a small gender gap among arbitrators, mediators and conciliators, sociologists, computer operators, bakers, medical scientists, accountant and auditors, statisticians, retail sales persons, optometrists, art directors, post secondary teachers, and training and development managers, CareerBuilder said.

The survey, conducted in March by Harris Interactive, included interviews with 1,746 men and 1,475 women, CareerBuilder said.