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1 in 5 Human Resource Managers Admit Women At Their Companies Earn Less Than Men For the Same Work, CareerBuilder Survey Finds

  • Men are nearly three times as likely to earn six figures
  • Only 35 percent of female workers believe there is equal pay in the workplace
  • More than half of workers do not aspire to be in a leadership position at a company


CHICAGO – February 25, 2016 – Today, gender equality in the workplace is top of mind for politicians, activists, business leaders and workers. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, more than half of workers (55 percent) do not believe men and women are paid equally for the same job, and a similar proportion (51 percent) do not feel men and women are given the same career advancement opportunities.

A significant number of employers agree with 20 percent of human resource managers admitting that women do not make the same wages as their male counterparts at their organizations.

More than 3,200 workers and more than 220 human resource managers in the private sector across industries participated in the nationwide survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from November 4 and December 1, 2015.

Salary Comparison

Taking a closer look at pay comparisons, men were nearly three times as likely to report earning six figures and nearly twice as likely to earn $50,000 or more. Women were twice as likely to report earning less than $35,000.

Earn less than $35,000

  • Men – 23 percent
  • Women – 47 percent

Earn $50,000 or more

  • Men – 49 percent
  • Women – 25 percent

Earn $100,000 or more

  • Men – 14 percent
  • Women – 5 percent

Survey results confirm that women feel inequality to a greater extent than men — only 35 percent of women believe there’s equal pay (compared to 56 percent of men) and 39 percent of women say there are equal opportunities for advancement (compared to 60 percent of men).

Results also indicate that younger workers (men and women) believe they’re closer to parity. When asked if they believe men and women are on equal footing in the workplace:

  • 18-24: 61 percent said yes
  • 25-34: 50 percent said yes
  • 35-44: 40 percent said yes
  • 45-54: 46 percent said yes
  • 55+: 46 percent said yes

“While we continue to make strides in gender equality in the workplace, there’s more work to be done,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder. “It is critical that employers strive to equal the playing field for all employees, regardless of their gender and understand that not every employee fits the same mold or career path.”

Not Making Moves

While more women are in the corner office today, women are less likely than men to say they want their boss’ job (19 percent of women versus 27 percent of men). Two thirds of women (65 percent) said they don’t aspire to be in a leadership position compared to 58 percent of men.

Gender and Job Satisfaction

One area in which men and women see almost eye to eye is job satisfaction: 64 percent of women say they’re satisfied or very satisfied with their job overall, and nearly the same proportion of men (63 percent) say the same. When asked what keeps them satisfied in their jobs, men and women who are satisfied in their job had similar answers. Liking the people they work with (73 percent of women and 64 percent of men) topped the list, followed by having a good work/life balance (both 59 percent), liking their boss (53 percent of women and 47 percent of men) and benefits (42 percent of women and 48 percent of men). Fifth on the list is where results vary: While women say “feeling valued/accomplishments are recognized” (42 percent), men say “salary” (47 percent).

Survey Methodology

These surveys were conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 223 human resource managers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government), 1,246 male employees and 2,006 female employees ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between November 4 and December 1, 2015. With pure probability samples of 223, 1,246 and 2,006, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have sampling errors of +/- 6.56, +/- 2.78 and +/- 2.19 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®

As the global leader in human capital solutions, CareerBuilder specializes in cutting-edge HR software as a service to help companies with every step of the recruitment process from acquire to hire. CareerBuilder works with top employers across industries, providing job distribution, sourcing, workflow, CRM, data and analytics in one pre-hire platform. It also operates leading job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO) and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

Media Contact

Ladan Nikravan
312.698.0538 x70538
ladan.nikravan@careerbuilder.com
http://www.twitter.com/CareerBuilderPR


CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com