Women More Likely to Graduate College, but Still Earn Less Than Men

Women are just as likely to be doctors as secretaries, but still earn 78 percent of what men make.

More young adult women than men have college degrees, but a gender pay gap still exists.

By Allie BidwellOct. 31, 2014 | 11:18 a.m. EDT+ More

Women today are more likely than men to complete college and attend graduate school, and make up nearly half of the country's total workforce. Yet past gaps in education and experience appear to be contributing to a persistent pay gap between the sexes, a new report shows.

The report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers shows that although women are increasingly becoming more educated and make up a larger portion of the country's workforce, they consistently earn less than men, even when they have similar levels of education.

Women are now more likely than men to earn bachelor's degrees and attend graduate school.

"Women are fast becoming our most educated workers – they are attending school at higher rates, and they are entering a wide range of careers and deepening their work experience," an accompanying fact sheet on the report says.

In the early 1990s, adult women were about as likely as men to earn a bachelor's degree or attend graduate school. But around the middle of the decade, women began to surpass men in college attainment. That increase also can be seen in professional degree programs – women now account for almost half of students in law, medical and business administration graduate programs. During the 1960s, women accounted for about 10 percent of students in those programs.

Now, women in the workforce are more likely to have at least a bachelor's degree than not. They're also making gains in occupations that traditionally have been dominated by men: doctors, lawyers, scientists and professors, to name a few. Today, women in their early 30s are just as likely to be doctors or lawyers as they are to be teachers or secretaries, the report shows. 

Women are increasingly employed in professions that used to be dominated by men. 

But women still haven't reached a state of parity in the workforce, the report says. Although they're increasingly likely to work in historically male-dominated professions – many of which tend to have higher salaries – women still are overrepresented in lower-paying occupations. Women make up 56 percent of workers in the 20 lowest-paid jobs, and just 29 percent of those in the 20 highest-paid jobs, the report says.

"Reducing barriers to female occupational choice, including gender discrimination, would not only raise women’s earnings, but would also increase overall productivity by better matching worker skills to jobs," the report says. "Recent research has shown that women can help drive innovation and better target female customers and employees."

Women who work full-time still make significantly less on average than men.

While the gender pay gap has narrowed over time, women who work full-time today make 78 percent of what men make, on average. The gap is even greater for women of color: non-Hispanic black women made 64 percent of what men made in 2013, and Hispanic women earned 56 percent of what men earned. 

Generational trends still could be contributing to the wage gap, the report says, because past disparities in educational attainment, job choice and experience take time to disappear from the labor force.

Despite similar levels of education, women end up making less than men over time.

Even when men and women have similar levels of education, men end up earning more over time. The graph above shows how men and women with professional degrees begin with similar salaries, but within the first five years of employment, men's wages surpass women's wages. The report suggests that implementing policies such as paid family leave and flexible work schedules can help increase participation and experience over time.

"With women and men increasingly sharing breadwinning and caregiving responsibilities, today’s working families need a modern workplace – one with workplace flexibility, paid leave and quality child and elder care," the report says. "Such policies are beneficial for the economy as they lead to higher labor force participation, greater labor productivity and work engagement, and better allocation of talent across the economy."
Go to Top