CareerBuilder
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More Women in Health Care Reporting a Disparity in Pay and Career Advancement, Finds New CareerBuilder survey

-- Men Three Times as Likely to Earn Six Figures and Twice as Likely to Earn $50,000 or More --

CHICAGO — March 24, 2011 — A new study from CareerBuilder shows perceptions of unequal pay and career advancement opportunities are increasing among health care workers. Thirty-one percent of female health care workers said they feel they are paid less than male counterparts with the same skills and experience, up from 22 percent in 2008 when the survey was last conducted. The same number (31 percent) of female workers feel men have more career advancement opportunities within their organizations, up from 16 percent in 2008. The survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive© from November 15 to December 2, 2010 and included 205 male and 317 female health care workers nationwide.

Perceptions are reflecting reality. Comparing salaries, 52 percent of men in health care said they make $50,000 or more, compared to 25 percent of women. Twelve percent of men make $100,000 or more, compared to just 4 percent of women. On the other end of the pay scale, 37 percent of women reported they make $35,000 or less, compared to 20 percent of men.

In terms of upward mobility, 15 percent of men surveyed said they hold a management position, compared to 14 percent of women. Nearly half (44 percent) of women said they are in clerical or administrative roles, compared to 16 percent of men.

Female health care workers also reported a difference in the amount of kudos given to members of the opposite sex. Thirty percent of women reported that men receive more recognition for their accomplishments than men do within their organizations.

"Many health care organizations have made strides to even out pay and other disparities, but wide gaps still exist between male and female health care workers," said Rob Morris, managing director of MiracleWorkers.com, CareerBuilder's health care jobs site. "As many health care workers face long work days and staff shortages, they are even more aware of average compensation levels and differences that may exist between their earnings and those of the opposite sex."

One-third of women (33 percent) attributed the disparity in pay and career advancement to the fact that they don't rub elbows or schmooze with management as much as men. Twenty percent said it was a simple case of management showing favoritism to the opposite sex, while 13 percent acknowledged that their male counterpart had been with the company longer.

The Man's Perspective

From the male point of view, 81 percent of men feel men and women with the same qualifications are paid the same within their organizations and 83 percent believe the career advancement opportunities are equal for both genders.

Seven percent of men said they feel they are paid less than their female counterparts, down from 13 percent in 2008. Eleven percent of men feel women have more career advancement opportunities, similar to 12 percent in 2008.

When asked what annoyed them most about the opposite sex in the office, men said women tend to gossip or become too emotional or sensitive. Women said men can be too arrogant, do not take female co-workers seriously and say inappropriate comments.

Survey Methodology — This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 522 U.S. workers (employed full-time; not self-employed; employed in health care industry) ages 18 and over between November 15 and December 2, 2010 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). Of these, 205 were male and 317 were female. With a pure probability sample of 522 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 4.29 percentage points; and a sampling error of +/- 6.84 and +/- 5.50 percentage points for males and females, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®

CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset — their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 22 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 40 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 9,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder's proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

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