Women have made strides toward equal representation in managerial and executive
positions of corporate America, but women holding such jobs still earn less
than men in similar positions do, the Associated Press reports.For a Limited Time receive a
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Get Your Report Now!Even though women held nearly 46 percent of the managerial and executive jobs in the United
States in 2002, only 6 percent of women working full time earned at least $75,000
a year, compared with 16 percent of men, according to a Census
Bureau report, based on a survey taken in March of 2002. In addition, 12 percent
of women earned between $50,000 and $75,000, compared with 20 percent of men.
In 2002, the percentage of women in managerial positions remained steady from
a record high established in 2001, the AP notes. In 1983, only about a third
of the positions were held by women.
"In my lifetime, there will still be a wage gap," says Betty Spence,
president of the National Association of Female Executives. "It's up to
women in senior positions to bring other women up, or else it's not going to
happen."
Amy Caiazza of the Institute for Women's Policy Research cites a few reasons
for the disparity in pay. Discrimination still exists, she tells the
AP. With men continuing to dominate corporate boardrooms and the upper echelon
of corporations, women may be in lower tiers of managerial and executive structure
as well. In addition, some women take breaks in their careers to raise children.
In the slumping economy, employers are offering fewer flexible work arrangements
than they did in the booming late 1990s, which may have an impact on the advancement
of women, Kristen Ross, founder of Woman's Work, tells the AP.
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