Bizjournals recently ranked 112 major occupational groups to determine which jobs employed men and women "in roughly equal numbers and at comparable pay levels." Their study revealed striking differences among occupations in terms of gender equity.
Overall, the study found that men and women are "essentially equal in many fields" including food services, education and transportation. However, Bizjournals reports that men and women are "far apart" in heavy industry, skilled trades and child care.
Bizjournals, the online media division of American City Business Journals, found that the occupational group that comes "closest to the ideal of equality" is "dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers." These workers only receive about $318 per week, but men and women are "basically on an even footing" with men holding 51.5 percent of the jobs, compared to 48.5 percent for women. Meanwhile, women actually earn 4.5 percent more than men, or $14 ($328 to $314) per week in these restaurant positions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, upon whose data Bizjournals based its study, there are 380,000 such workers in the United States.
Here are the 5 jobs with the most gender equity as identified by Bizjounals, with the percentage of jobs held by women and women's earnings compared to men's in parenthesis:
- Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers (48.5% of jobs held by women; women's earnings compared to men's, 104.5%)
- Food preparation workers (59.2%; 97%)
- Secondary school teachers (56%; 93.7%)
- Cooks (43.2%; 90.2%)
- Stock clerks and order filers (39.1%; 93%)
Meanwhile, Bizjournals found that the occupation with the least gender equity was found among the approximately 367,000 bus and truck mechanics and diesel-engine specialists. Less than 1 percent (3,300) of workers in these positions are female, according to Bizjournals, the "smallest female representation in any of the 112 occupations covered by the study."
Here are the 5 jobs with the least gender equity:
- Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists (0.9% of jobs held by women; women's earnings compared to men n.a.)
- Automotive service technicians and mechanics (1.6%; n.a.)
- Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators(1.7%; n.a.)
- Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (1.8%; n.a.)
- Electricians (1.9%; n.a.)
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