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The Wage Gap Between Men and Women

men and women wagesIt’s a well-known fact that men often make more than women. Even though women have worked very hard over the years to secure their wages and their rights, there is still a fight for equality. However, this infographic from Pay Scale offers a new and interesting explanation for the wage gap between men and women. Spark News has extensively looked at the differences between men and women and their struggles with the job market, but this is a new outlook. We all know about the supposed “Mancession” and then the “Mancovery”. The market is reportedly starting to brighten up for women, but actual wages may not have much to do with the differences in pay between men and women. It may just be the jobs men choose and the jobs women choose that creates the difference in pay.

The infographic below from Pay Scale takes a look at the percentage of wage difference between men and women in certain fields. The differences in pay when men and women work in similar fields is not very high. Of course it’s not yet equal, but a 1 percent difference or a 3 percent difference is not that large. However, when you look at men earnings overall, they make a great deal more than women. Pay Scale suggests that it has a lot to do with the fact that men simply choose to work in jobs and fields that pay more.

Common jobs for men include software developers, construction project managers and computer systems administrators. These are positions that earn high starting salaries at at least $40,000 and can go to almost $60,000. With more and more years of experience, the opportunity for growth and higher wages skyrocket. An experienced software developer can make close to $100,000 annually. On the flip side, common jobs for women include registered nurses, school teachers and HR administrators. The average annual pay for these positions start out at about the same level as the common male jobs- even a bit lower. However, the kicker is the growth factor these jobs offer- or don’t offer. With the same years of experience as software developers and project managers, these mostly female jobs earn high salaries of just under $70,000. See the differences?

Take a look at the infographic for yourself and see what Pay Scale is getting at here.

men and women wages

SOURCE: Visual.ly
IMAGE: Visual.ly

Nicole Nicholson

Nicole is the Content Editor for Spark Hire and mainly writes for and edits the work for the Spark News blog. She graduated in 2010 with a BA in Journalism from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. She has a passion for writing, editing, and pretty much anything to do with content. In her free time she frequents the Chicago music scene and writes reviews on shows for her own personal blog. Connect with Nicole and Spark Hire on Facebook and Twitter

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