Today, gender equality in the workplace is top of mind for politicians, activists, business leaders and workers. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, more than half of workers (55%) do not believe men and women are paid equally for the same job, and a similar proportion (51%) do not feel men and women are given the same career advancement opportunities.

A significant number of employers agree with 20% of human resource managers admitting that women do not make the same wages as their male counterparts at their organizations.

More than 3,200 workers and more than 220 human resource managers in the private sector across industries participated in the nationwide survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from November 4 and December 1, 2015.

Salary comparison

Taking a closer look at pay comparisons, men were nearly three times as likely to report earning six figures and nearly twice as likely to earn $50,000 or more. Women were twice as likely to report earning less than $35,000.

Earn less than $35,000

• Men—23%
• Women—47%

Earn $50,000 or more

• Men—49%
• Women—25%

Earn $100,000 or more

• Men—14%
• Women—5%

Survey results confirm that women feel inequality to a greater extent than men—only 35% of women believe there's equal pay (compared to 56% of men) and 39% of women say there are equal opportunities for advancement (compared to 60% of men).

Results also indicate that younger workers (men and women) believe they're closer to parity. When asked if they believe men and women are on equal footing in the workplace:

• 18 to 24 years old: 61% said yes
• 25 to 34 years old: 50% said yes
• 35 to 44 years old: 40% said yes
• 45 to 54 years old: 46% said yes
• 55 years old and up: 46% said yes

"While we continue to make strides in gender equality in the workplace, there's more work to be done," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder. "It is critical that employers strive to equal the playing field for all employees, regardless of their gender and understand that not every employee fits the same mold or career path."

Not making moves

While more women are in the corner office today, women are less likely than men to say they want their boss' job (19% of women versus 27% of men). Two thirds of women (65%) said they don't aspire to be in a leadership position compared to 58% of men.

Gender and job satisfaction

One area in which men and women see almost eye to eye is job satisfaction: 64% of women say they're satisfied or very satisfied with their job overall, and nearly the same proportion of men (63%) say the same.

When asked what keeps them satisfied in their jobs, men and women who are satisfied in their job had similar answers. Liking the people they work with (73% of women and 64% of men) topped the list, followed by:

• Having a good work/life balance (both 59%),
• Liking their boss (53% of women and 47% of men), and
• Benefits (42% of women and 48% of men).

Fifth on the list is where results vary: While women say "feeling valued/accomplishments are recognized" (42%), men say "salary" (47%).

Survey methodology

These surveys were conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 223 human resource managers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, nongovernment), 1,246 male employees and 2,006 female employees ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, nongovernment) between November 4 and December 1, 2015. With pure probability samples of 223, 1,246 and 2,006, one could say with a 95 % probability that the overall results have sampling errors of +/- 6.56, +/- 2.78 and +/- 2.19 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.