Earnings gap widening between men, women in Washington state

Also, men dominate in the highest-paying fields. The percentage of women who worked in the high-paying information sector (which includes computer programmers and developers) dropped from 48 percent in 1990 to 36 percent in 2007. In manufacturing, which includes aerospace, the percentage of women working dropped from 27 percent in 1990 to 25 percent last year.

Marilyn Watkins, one of the authors of the report, said the preponderance of men in the highest-paying fields was one of the factors explaining why the earnings gap between men and women grew. Last year, the average monthly earnings for men was $4,596, while women earned $2,924. In 1990, men took home $3,104, while women took home $2,102 (in 2007 dollars).

Two other factors Watkins noticed: A higher percentage of women continue to work part-time (33 percent of women, compared to 19 percent of men in 2007) and men's average earnings had a significant increase in the late 1990s, during the dot-com boom.

"I was stunned at the lack of change in the percent of men and women in many industries, as well as the drop in the percentage of women in what are generally considered higher-paid industries," Watkins said.

It was surprising to me, as well. For years I've been hearing about more women entering male-dominated industries, but the numbers don't seem to show that. In construction, for example, more women are in the industry (rising from 10,064 in 1990 to 30,206 in 2007) but the number of men also increased, from 73,380 to 152,373 in the same period.

Also interesting was a section of the report about what people make at certain ages. For men, the trend was the same in 1990 as it was in 2007: They make relatively little money between the ages of 19 and 24, then they see big jumps in salaries between ages 25 and 54, before dropping. In 2007, men between 19 and 24 earned on average just 36 percent of what men age 35 to 44 made.

For women, the trend has been changing. In 1990, they made relatively little money between 19 and 24, then saw a significant jump in the 25 to 34 age bracket, then tail off after the age of 35. In 2007, they still see relatively little money between ages 19 and 24, but their earnings continue climbing until 54 before dropping. It could be a sign that more women are working full-time longer; still the difference between the men's and women's earnings in 2007 is that men see big jumps in their peak earning years, while women see more of a steady increase.

The report did point out that women are making progress in the median hourly wage. In 1979 women made 59 percent of the men's median hourly wage; that has increased to 81 percent in 2007. However, more work can be done to narrow the gap in what women actually take home each month.

To see the full report, visit www.eoionline.org.

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