ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 16, 1996 TAG: 9601160055
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
Women's salaries are starting to catch up and, in some fields, even surpass men's pay. But more typically, women still earn 5 cents to 15 cents less on the dollar than men in similar jobs, Working Woman magazine reports.
In a survey being released today, the magazine found the pay gap for women narrowed significantly in 1995 in some jobs, such as computer analysts, but widened in others. For instance, women bank tellers, brokers and other financial service representatives made 55 percent of the amount their male counterparts received, down from 66 percent in 1994.
The survey - using figures provided by professional associations, compensation consultants, trade publications and the Bureau of Labor Statistics - looked at 28 fields for which salaries were available by gender. It found that women typically earned 85 cents to 95 cents per men's dollar.
The article's author, Diane Harris, said in a telephone interview, ``The problem is that women are clustered in traditionally female lower-paying jobs.''
The survey found pay inequities varied by industry and position. Women health managers at hospitals earned about $30,212, or 68 percent of men's $44,200. That was a decrease from 1994, when women in those positions earned 79 percent of men's wages.
Harris said she could not explain why salaries decreased in some areas.
The news was brighter in other fields, with some women professionals earning more than their male co-workers.
For instance, a woman chief financial officer at a university or college earned $104,506, compared with her male counterpart's $95,004, about 110 percent as much. But a woman chief executive officer at a university typically earned $138,800, or 89 percent of a man's $155,500.
``There are very few women who make it into those positions, and those who do are highly, highly qualified,'' Harris said. ``The problem for those women is not pay equity, it's getting there in the first place.''
The Bureau of Labor Statistics determined that women earn 74 cents to a man's dollar. Harris said that's because the bureau does not compare similar jobs. ``It lumps all jobs that women hold and all jobs that men hold,'' she said.
Ellen Bravo, executive director of 9to5, the National Association of Working Woman, said: ``It's true that women in higher level jobs are doing better, and we should all be proud of them, but the majority of women are not in higher-level jobs. And for many, particularly women of color, they continue to toil in jobs that are undervalued and low paid simply because they're done primarily by women.''
The magazine survey, examining the salaries of workers at public companies, found the top-paid woman in corporate America is Linda Wacher, president and CEO of Warnaco/Authentic Fitness Corp., who took home $3.5 million in salary alone. The company makes women's underwear and shirts and neckties for men.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB