Gender earnings disparity in the US financial sector: 2000-2012

Abstract

Wage disparity in the financial sector between males and females is a known phenomenon that revenue managers have to deal with. Based on government survey data that were analysed, this study confirms that there are several major differences in the salary trends of financial professionals. Up through 2012, every group was reporting pay increments. However, when the dataset was segmented by gender, the findings of the 21 financial occupations showed that every financial job category exhibited evidence of wage disparity over the examined period. In addition, the top five financial occupations with the largest gender wage gap were also the worst jobs in equal pay among all occupations in the USA. Furthermore, the only one financial job that paid nearly the same to women as well as to men fell in the low-skilled and low-paid supportive category that was below the federal poverty threshold in 2012. Female salaries continue to lag behind more during the latter part of the recession period. Finally, using path analysis, it was found that some job occupations have the tendency to generate a wider wage gap over time that is significant and persistent.