Single women earn the least, fathers earn the most: Report

Women are paid less in every sector of the American workforce, with no industry paying them equally to men, according to a new report issued Thursday.

The report, issued by Internet employment information site PayScale Inc., compared salaries across industries, in different geographic areas and by age and marital status, Financial Advisor reported, adding that the survey found that women earn 2.7 percent less pay than men with similar abilities.

According to the new report, fathers had the highest overall median salaries at about $67,900, compared to $46,800 for married mothers, and single women with children had the lowest median salary at $38,200, Fox Business claimed, adding that in four states, Alaska, Delaware, Michigan and Washington, the most common job for men had a median income higher than $100,000, but there are no states in which the common job for women exceeds $77,000.

“A big reason for the gender pay gap is that men and women tend to work in different jobs. Men dominate higher paying jobs, engineering, construction mining, and women dominate jobs like teaching and social work,” Aubrey Bach, senior editorial manager of PayScale, was quoted by Fox Business.

While men’s salaries kept increasing until the age of 50 to 55, reaching a median salary of $75,000, the report showed women’s wages hit a plateau between 35 to 40 years old at about $49,000, Fox Business stated.

“Companies in the past haven’t linked the return on investment for fostering diverse workforces,” Bach said to Fox Business, “and they haven’t been aware of the really subtle behaviors that are preventing women from getting hired in high-paying roles or rising to executive levels.”

PayScale found that women, though, are more likely to say their jobs are satisfying and meaningful but also more stressful, Financial Advisor reported.