Pew Research: Women's Progress in High-Paying Occupations

In recent decades, women have made significant strides in the workforce, gaining ground in some of the nation's highest-paying occupations. A recent study by Pew Research reveals that while there has been notable progress, there are still areas where women lag behind their male counterparts.

Women now constitute 35% of the workforce in the United States' top 10 highest-paying occupations, a substantial increase from the mere 13% in 1980. These professions include physicians, lawyers, and pharmacists. However, women remain the minority in nine out of the ten highest-paying occupations, with pharmacists being the exception, where 61% are women. This percentage of women in these high-paying roles remains lower than their overall share in the U.S. workforce, which stands at 47%.

While women have made significant strides in various high-paying occupations, some stand out. Since 1980, the share of women dentists has quadrupled, increasing from 7% to 33%. Similarly, the share of women physicians has tripled, rising from 13% to 38%, while women lawyers have seen their representation grow from 14% to 40%.

However, there are areas where progress has been slower. In high-paying engineering fields, women make up less than 10% of sales engineers and petroleum, mining, and geological engineers. Furthermore, the aviation industry still sees a gender imbalance, with only 7% of airplane pilots and navigators being women, though this represents an improvement from 2% in 1980.

One notable factor contributing to the increased presence of women in high-paying occupations is their pursuit of specialized graduate degrees. Occupations like physicians, lawyers, dentists, and pharmacists require these advanced degrees, and women have been increasingly earning them. Today, women make up about half of those receiving advanced degrees such as Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.).

Additionally, women now earn 63% of Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degrees, which aligns closely with their majority presence in the pharmacist occupation (61%). The pharmacist profession's family-friendly policies and a collaborative work environment have contributed to this trend.

Women have made significant progress in the nation's highest-paying occupations, with some fields seeing remarkable changes. However, disparities still exist, and the journey towards gender equality in these professions continues. Encouragingly, the pursuit of advanced degrees is playing a pivotal role in narrowing these gaps, offering hope for a more balanced future in these high-paying sectors.

Read the full report here.