[NBMom1225]

Here's a little tidbit I saw on MSN careerbuilder...you'd think that women would at least be paid equal to men in the nursing field!

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1036&SiteId=cbmsnhp4103 6&sc_extcmp=JS_1036_home1&GT1=10072&cbRecursionCnt =1&cbsid=34e1ad9cb8bd46c68d6846dff9d99463-235467184-TG-4

5 Top-Paying Jobs: Female Dominated

Registered Nurse
Female Salary: $56,900
Male Salary: $64,200
Percent female: 86 percent


</SPAN>

[cityhawk]

Not that I am so naive as to think that all is equal in the workplace, but perhaps this statistic is misleading. Does anyone have data on what the percentage of different degrees of nursing are broken down by gender? I believe there are fewer men who are LPN's and more who are BSN or MSN's (based on percentages). I believe I've seen these statistics somewhere but can't quote them. Also, how does the breakdown of hours worked per week compare as a whole between women and men.

Now if they had a statistic that said that men with the same education and experience made more per hour than women did, especially in any given healthcare setting, I would be surprised, and that would be unjust indeed.

Also, I thought the percentage of men was lower than that. According to the American Association of Men in Nursing, the percentage of nurses who are men is more like 6%. If this survey is correct, then there has been a huge surge in male nurses since the time that AAMN took its data (a few years ago, if memory serves).

[Tweety]

50% of CRNAs are male, which earn higher salaries. So it might be skewed because of that.

I'd be more interested to compare apples to apples: Med-surg nurses with med-surg nurses, charge nurses with charge nurses, CRNA's to CRNA's, managers with managers, etc.

I'm not saying there wouldn't be a discrepancy, but the above figure could be misleading.

[MrChicagoRN]

Originally Posted by NBMom1225

Here's a little tidbit I saw on MSN careerbuilder...you'd think that women would at least be paid equal to men in the nursing field!


Registered Nurse
Female Salary: $56,900
Male Salary: $64,200
Percent female: 86 percent


</SPAN>

That's because men fill out the blue application form. The next time you apply for a job, walk into HR and ask for an application for your husband. Then fill it out yourself. You'll probably be quoted a salary quote off the blue pay scale sheet.


Actually, the overall higher salaries for men, if true, is because they often migrate to higher paid specialties, more likely to work full time, less likely to take a long hiatus to raise a family or whatever.

Women also sometimes stay in lower paid jobs they like than men do. (Not just in nursing).

If you compare for same training, expereience & specialty, I suspect the difference disappears.

[tntrn]

Per our union contract, we are paid according to years of experience, plus various extras for certifications etc. So none of the male RN's can make more than female co-workers given the same set of criteria.

[Sensoria17]

I had a sociology class years ago and the text covered studies that showed male kindergarten teachers made more. On top of that, for no logical reason, they are promoted more quickly through the education system and given higher paid adminstrative positions. So, I'm sure the same thing applies to male RNs.

[DarrenWright]

I would guess this is a per-capita annual income.

That said, I would suspect that there is a substantially HIGHER percentage of part-time employed female RN's in the female RN population compared to the number of part-time male RN's in the male population.

In the unit where I work, 100% of the male RN's are full-time employees, so that means 100% of the part-time RN's are female. It's these durned part-timers that make us guys look like we are getting special treatment!

Because of this, it would be more accurate to compare average HOURLY wages instead of annual wages.

[llg]

I agree that the stats quoted in the initial post are misleading (and I am a woman and strong supporter of many feminist causes such as equal pay for equal work). As others have pointed out, men usually approach their nursing careers as "professional careers" and not "just a job" and they are more likely to seek higher education, certification, and greater responsibility.

The only figures I would consider legitimate would be those that compare men and women who have the same level of education, same amount and type of experience, and in the same position. Such figures would be meaningful, but I haven't seen them for nursing.

As Sensoria17 pointed out, there have been some studies comparing men and women in other professions. So, it's reasonable to suspect there may be some similar bias in nursing. However, it would be very wrong to assume that the same bias exists in nursing without properly looking at the data.

My personal impression (based on what I have observed, not on scientific study) is that the "truth" lies somewhere in between the 2 extremes -- but closer to fairness than toward unfairness. I think there is a very slight bias toward taking men more seriously in the workplace even within nursing and to consider them more favorably for promotions, etc. However, I think that bias, if it exists, is slight. I think that salary difference mostly arise from the fact that more men view their nursing careers more seriously and choose to take steps (ie.education) to advance within their chosen profession.

In other words, for the most part -- the men deserve the higher pay they are getting.

llg (feminist, but also a realist)

[HeatherB-SST]

I my previous career, hairstyling, there was a huge gender/salary discrepancy as well, but it was easily explained.

80% of licensed hairstylists in the US are women. Yet the men (20%) are earning 80% of all the $$ earned in the industry!! In other words, take all the money earned by all hairstylists, the 80% is being earned my men (1 out of 5) and the remaining 20% is being earned my the women (4 out of 5).

Now, that sounds outrageous, right? All have the same license, but what they do with it differs greatly. The vast majority of inexpensive, walk-in type salons have predominantly women working in them, making (my best educated guess) about $10-15/hr on average. (tips can average $50-100/wk)

Most men are working in high-end, expensive salons, or are salon owners themselves. It's not unheard of for a fully booked high-end hairstylist to make upwards of $100k a year. (tips can be $200-$500/wk)

There is some crossover, of course. You do see guys working at Great Clips, and I was a woman in a high-end salon. But the point is what are you doing with the job you have that affects your salary?

You can see this gender difference everywhere you go. If I walk into a Waffle House restaurant, chances are my server will be female. If I go to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, I am more likely to be waited on by a guy. My personal theory is that men are more likely to be the main breadwinner of a household, and therefore have to pursue the money a little more aggressively than some women. Not to say that there are not ambitious women out there, but I know that as the earner of the second income for my household, there is not as much pressure to earn the big bucks, so I do what makes me happy, even if that means less $$. (hence my career switch from bigbucks hairstylist to scrub tech LOL) Not as many men feel they have that option. Just my opinion.

I agree with the posters above that there should be comparisons across similar education backgrounds and specialties. I doubt the male CNA makes more than the female CNA on the same floor of the same hospital, if all other factors (experience, competence) are equal. At least I hope not. Also, my female CRNA student friend says all her classmates are looking forward to the same starting salaries, and 1/3 of them are men.

Another factor to consider is that maybe more men are nurses in metropolitan areas where salaries are higher?? Dunno about that one, just popped into my head.

[epg_pei]

Pay scale in PEI hospitals is per contract, gender cannot be a factor