CareerBuilder
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

More Saleswomen Reporting a Disparity in Pay and Career Advancement, Finds New CareerBuilder Survey

-- Men Nearly 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 sales workers. Forty-five percent of female sales workers said they feel they are paid less than male counterparts with the same skills and experience, up from 37 percent in 2008 when the survey was last conducted. In addition, 48 percent of female workers feel men have more career advancement opportunities within their organizations, up from 23 percent in 2008. The survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive© from November 15 to December 2, 2010 and included 220 male and 101 female sales workers nationwide.

Perceptions are reflecting reality. Comparing salaries, 49 percent of salesmen surveyed reported they make $50,000 or more, compared to 28 percent of saleswomen. Thirteen percent of men make $100,000 or more, compared to just 9 percent of women. On the other end of the pay scale, 39 percent of women reported they make $35,000 or less, compared to 18 percent of men.

In terms of upward mobility, 33 percent of men surveyed said they hold a management position, compared to 28 percent of women. Two-in-five (41 percent) of women said they are in clerical or administrative roles, compared to 18 percent of men.

Women also reported a difference in the amount of kudos given to members of the opposite sex. Forty-five percent of women reported that men receive more recognition for their accomplishments than woman do within their organizations.

"Many sales organizations are working toward greater equality among their sales forces, but it can be challenging," said John Smith, vice president of sales at CareerBuilder. "Salespeople are highly competitive, and as a result, tend to be more aware of average compensation levels. They may be more likely to speak up when it comes to their pay and title, especially because their roles highly contribute to the overall bottom line of an organization."

More than one-quarter of women (26 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. Thirty percent said it was a simple case of management showing favoritism to the opposite sex, while 17 percent acknowledged that their male counterpart had been with the company longer.

The Man's Perspective

From the male point of view, 77 percent of men feel men and women with the same qualifications are paid the same within their organizations and 68 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.

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, tend to gossip, 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 321 U.S. workers (employed full-time; not self-employed; employed in sales 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, 220 were male and 101 were female. With a pure probability sample of 321 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 5.47 percentage points; and a sampling error of +/- 6.61 and +/- 9.75 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.

Media Contact: