The Gender Earnings Gap for Teachers Is Highest at the Postsecondary Level

The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data on the gender gap in earnings across a wide range of occupations. Over all occupations, women had earnings that averaged 79.5 percent of male earnings in 2014. But there were wider gender gaps in earnings in many fields.

For example, women financial advisers earned only 63 percent of their male counterparts and women aircraft mechanics made only 56 percent of the earnings of male aircraft mechanics.

In the field of education, women earn less than men at all levels. But the gender gap in earnings is less than the national average for all occupations. At the postsecondary level the gender gap in earnings is higher than for teachers at the elementary or secondary levels. Women faculty members at postsecondary institutions earned on average 84.1 percent of their male peers. For secondary school teachers, women earned 94.6 percent of their male counterparts. At the elementary school level, women teachers had earnings that were 93 percent of male elementary school teachers. School librarians who were women earned 92 percent of their male peers.

The data table, “Full-Time, Year-Round Workers and Median Earnings in the Past 12 Months by Sex and Detailed Occupation: 2014,” may be accessed here.