Both Men and Women Report Pay Bias

According to a gender pay survey released July 12, 35 percent of female workers say that they are paid less than men in their workplaces with similar experience and qualifications.

This number has grown 4 percent since the companys 2003 “Men and Women at Work” study.

Younger female workers reported fewer instances of pay disparity in the survey, with 30 percent of females aged 21 to 35 responding that they were paid less than equally qualified males.

In the 36- to 50-year-old bracket, 35 percent reported lower earnings than their male counterparts, as did 43 percent in the 51- to 65-year-old bracket.

Twenty-seven percent of the women attributed the lower pay to being less apt to “schmooze with management.” Twenty-one percent felt that management showed favoritism toward male coworkers and 10 percent attributed their salary differences to seniority.

Men, too, reported gender bias in pay levels in the survey, but on a smaller scale. Eight percent said they were paid less than their female counterparts with similar experience and qualifications. Fifteen percent said their employers afford women more career advancement opportunities in the companies.

The survey of 1,400 women and 575 men was conducted by CareerBuilder.com, a Chicago-based online job site, over two weeks in February 2006.

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