CareerBuilder
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fewer Women Working in Retail Reporting a Disparity in Pay and Career Advancement, CareerBuilder Survey Finds

CHICAGO — March 24, 2011 — A new study from CareerBuilder shows perceptions of unequal pay and career advancement opportunities are evening out in the retail workplace. Thirty-four percent of female retail workers said they feel they are paid less than male counterparts with the same skills and experience, down from 41 percent in 2008 when the survey was last conducted. In addition, 36 percent of female workers feel men have more career advancement opportunities within their organizations, up only slightly from 33 percent in 2008. The survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive© from November 15 to December 2, 2010 and included 215 male and 185 female retail workers nationwide.

Comparing salaries, 15 percent of men surveyed reported they make $50,000 or more, compared to 12 percent of women. On the other end of the pay scale, 61 percent of women reported they make $35,000 or less, compared to 50 percent of men.

In terms of upward mobility, 36 percent of men surveyed said they hold a management position, compared to 32 percent of women. More than half (55 percent) of women said they are in clerical or administrative roles, compared to 42 percent of men.

When it comes to recognition, women reported a difference in the amount of kudos given to members of the opposite sex. Thirty-one percent of women reported that men receive more recognition for their accomplishments than woman do within their organizations.

"Retailers have made strides to achieve equality in their stores, but there are still differences that exist between men and women in terms of pay and advancement opportunities." said Bill Meidell, managing director of WorkInRetail.com, CareerBuilder's retail job site. "Retail workers are more likely to speak up about disparities, particularly with pay, in light of the heavier workloads and shorter staffs they encountered during the recession."

More than two-in-five female retail workers (45 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. Fifteen percent said it was a simple case of management showing favoritism to the opposite sex, while 16 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 78 percent believe the career advancement opportunities are equal for both genders.

Compared to the previous study in 2008, fewer men reported that female counterparts earn more than them, but more men feel women have an advantage when it comes to climbing the company ladder.

Six percent of men said they feel they are paid less than their female counterparts, down from 13 percent in 2008. Seventeen percent of men feel women have more career advancement opportunities, up from 13 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, say inappropriate comments and not take female co-workers seriously.

Survey Methodology — This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 400 U.S. workers (employed full-time; not self-employed; employed in retail 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, 215 were male and 185 were female. With a pure probability sample of 400 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 4.90 percentage points; and a sampling error of +/- 6.68 and +/- 7.21 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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