Female nurses earn less than male nurses

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

http://www.lygus.lt/itc/news.php?id=61

pay: the gender gap

a woman's work is never done. though you might not know it to look at her paycheck.

according to u.s. census bureau statistics, women make on average 25 percent less than men. this is, however, a marked improvement over 1970, when women made 41 percent less.

it varies by race

the pay gap differs by race, with the earnings of white women being just 72 percent of those of white men; black women making 82 percent as much as their male counterparts; and hispanic women earning 83 percent of what hispanic men earn. the rutgers school of management relations says this is primarily because white men still earn the most among all groups of workers.

it's wider among professionals

regardless of educational level, men out-earn women. for example, in 2000, college educated women earned just $5,000 more a year than male high school graduates.

while education has a major positive effect on the earnings of both sexes, it is particularly strong for men. interestingly, the wage gap is largest among the most highly educated groups.

a researcher exploring the pay and promotion gap among statisticians attributed this to women not wanting to put themselves forward as candidates for competition. she found that while most women did not apply for higher jobs because they believed they needed more time and preparation, ironically, those who did apply actually had more success than their male counterparts.

while causes of the gender pay gap are complex and include work/family choices, data on women's dramatically lower recognition in domains where their talents and achievements are equal to men's imply there is a tendency to undervalue a woman's work and contributions.

occupation matters

the gap appears in all occupations, however it is largest in the category of medicine and health management, where women earn just 63 percent of what men do. even in predominantly female medical fields like nursing (9 out of 10 rns are women), female nurses still earn just 88 of what male nurses make.jobs with the smallest gender pay gaps include legal assistants, where women earn 96 percent of what men do, as well as male-dominated occupations like engineering, where women earn 89 percent as much as men, and police and detective work, where women earn 83 percent as much as men.

according to labor department figures, women who choose non-traditional careers such as dentists (just 20 percent are women) or airline pilots or navigators (less than 4 percent are female), can expect to have lifetime earnings that are 150 percent higher than those of women who choose traditional careers.

pay vs. satisfaction

despite the pay gap, according to several studies, women are actually more satisfied at work!

careerbuilder.com's recent "pulse of the worker" survey found that despite receiving lower raises, fewer bonuses, and having lower expectations for being promoted, women were more likely than men to report that, overall, they are happy with their jobs.

who said a woman is never satisfied?

copyright 2004 careerbuilder.com. all rights reserved. the information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without prior written authority.

http://www.bpwmaryland.org/html/womens_issues.html

women's issues in the workplace

the wage gap for working women is 74 cents to a man's dollar earned. the facts continue to show women are not earning all they could. some of the figures related to this gap include recent women college graduates earn nearly 16 percent less than men. the average woman loses approximately $420,000 over a lifetime due to unequal pay practices, resulting in fewer savings for retirement.

in 1996, the median weekly earnings for all men was $557, compared to $418 for all women, $362 for african american women, and $316 for hispanic women. poverty rates are higher at every age for women who live alone or with non-relatives than for their male counterparts. women of color face discrimination in earnings based on both race and gender, african american women earned 65.1 percent, while hispanic women earn only 56.6 percent of white men's wages on average.

in 1995, the u.s. bureau of labor statistics reported that male nurses were paid three percent more, or $1,144 more per year than female nurses. male secretaries, stenographers and typists earned 12 percent more, an annual $2,392 more than female secretaries.

the more educated a woman, the wider the wage gap. women with a high school diploma earn $9,000 less a year than their white male colleagues, and college educated african american women earn $2,558 less than white male high school graduates.finally about 60 percent of the improvement in the wage gap during the last 15 years can be attributed to the decline in men's real earnings.

source: bpw/usa's 101 facts on the status of working women

(note: this is a pdf file - click here to download the free acrobat reader)

want more information?

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

Here is a very infomative article on gender related pay inequities in PDF format:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/b/l/blo113/Wmnst%20project.pdf

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

Women: Overrepresented and Underpaid

"........Women constitute the majority of workers in the service industry. In 2002, almost 70% of the employees in education services were women, as were more than 82% of social service employees, and more than 72% of hospital employees.23

The median weekly earnings of men in service sector industries exceeded those of women by up to 36% in 2001.24 Women earn less than their male counterparts even in occupations where women are the vast majority. For example, in 2002, male nurses earned 10% more than female nurses, while male teachers (other than college and university) earned 13% more.25. ....."

http://www.dpeaflcio.org/policy/factsheets/fs_2003_service.htm

[Dixiecup]

Don't know about the pay but it's a proven fact that male nurses advance and promote much faster than females. I've seen it happen over and over. You can debate it any way you want but if you're a male nurse you can write your own ticket. A couple of examples I've personally seen; I work in the correctional setting. I worked with a male LPN when I was an RN. He got his RN degree and within 6 months had obtained a DON position at a large correctional facility. A year after that he was promoted to a higher management position in the corporate office. Not even 6 months after that he was promoted to a administrator position. He was in that position about 18 months and was promoted to regional administrator. And this guy was an idiot, but a male idiot. I had applied for a DON position twice and was turned down because of lack of experience and I had worked in corrections 8 years! I finally did get the DON position after much pursuit. As fate would have it, I was promoted to administrator at the facility this male RN was at after he went on to the regional administrator position. I was responsible for entering all the payroll and low and behold , as an administrator he was making $67,000 a year while I was hired in at the same position at $56,000 a year. Go figure! I go to school with a male RN (we are both pursueing a BSN degree). He has only been an RN about 9 months. He came to class one day and said he had got a job as DON of a local nursing home. (He had not been a LPN prior to RN so he had only been a nurse for 9 months total) I looked at him and said " I don't want to burst your bubble but unfortunately you didn't get that job on merit, your gender was what got you the job". I know I'll probably get a lot of flack and neg responses for this post but I could go on and on with these situations. So if you're a male RN, go get 'em, the sky's the limit!:angryfire

[Brickman]

Don't know about the pay but it's a proven fact that male nurses advance and promote much faster than females. I've seen it happen over and over. You can debate it any way you want but if you're a male nurse you can write your own ticket. A couple of examples I've personally seen; I work in the correctional setting. I worked with a male LPN when I was an RN. He got his RN degree and within 6 months had obtained a DON position at a large correctional facility. A year after that he was promoted to a higher management position in the corporate office. Not even 6 months after that he was promoted to a administrator position. He was in that position about 18 months and was promoted to regional administrator. And this guy was an idiot, but a male idiot. I had applied for a DON position twice and was turned down because of lack of experience and I had worked in corrections 8 years! I finally did get the DON position after much pursuit. As fate would have it, I was promoted to administrator at the facility this male RN was at after he went on to the regional administrator position. I was responsible for entering all the payroll and low and behold , as an administrator he was making $67,000 a year while I was hired in at the same position at $56,000 a year. Go figure! I go to school with a male RN (we are both pursueing a BSN degree). He has only been an RN about 9 months. He came to class one day and said he had got a job as DON of a local nursing home. (He had not been a LPN prior to RN so he had only been a nurse for 9 months total) I looked at him and said " I don't want to burst your bubble but unfortunately you didn't get that job on merit, your gender was what got you the job". I know I'll probably get a lot of flack and neg responses for this post but I could go on and on with these situations. So if you're a male RN, go get 'em, the sky's the limit!:angryfire

Do you honestly think that men are just handed promotions? Could it be that just like women who are promoted it has something to do with attitude, personality, and actively seeking these positions. :stone

[moia]

At the very core of any job should be ability and experience...please explain how an 8 year veteran lost out to a completely inexperienced male?

I guess he just had a winning personality...

it is actually truly amazing how far the classic bs with a big grin and a firm handshake will get you if you are a guy.

I have seen it in nursing and human resources...this scary grinning handshaking fool is running the show...male administrators go for male candidates and if you look at who is hiring it's usually an old white guy...not to say they won't hire a woman..but if the choice is between a guy with no experience and a woman...well the guy wins.

We have failed to respect and advance women within our own ranks so we get men doing jobs we should be doing.

Has anyone seen a female ceo of any hospital?

How many women physicians are the heads of departments?

Administration is still male dominated because we as women allow it, we don't support advancement of our peers enough.

As long as we continue to allow men to advance without challenge the system will remain the same. Anytime you see a guy with no experience apply for an advanced position put your name in the running too.

A male friend of mine advanced into an educator role with no bachelors degree and minimal experience because no one else applied...no one.

He is now running a program as an educator and manager..that one job he got with no competition has created endless opportunities for him.

He didn't completely and absolutely deserve the job..he did nothing special.... he applied...that should say everything.

[reddgott]

I wish this were true, I could use the extra cash! :rotfl: Unfortunately the facility I work at doesnt pay based on gender, we all get the same rate based on length of service of course. The figures I have found,(and I did a paper on the whole male nurse issue last year in college), was not 9 out of 10 RNs are male. The figure is more like 5% to 6%. And of those new male graduates about 70% leave the field within the first 5 years.

I think it's easy to point out examples of promotions because we stick out like a sore thumb. We are an oddity. JMHO :)

[fergus51]

reddgot, the article says 9 out of 10 RNs are women, not men.

I have seen the gender advantage, more so whenI was a student. It all goes back to the "we need more men in nursing to save it" concept. Blech.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I am sooo with Fergus.

[longtermcarern]

Where I was previously employed, there was 2 nurses hired at the same time. One of each gender. They got to talking one day and she found out that despite her experience, he was hired in at about 4.00 an hour more. He was so upset about the inequality of it that he left the job with a note pinned to the bulletin board next to the time clock stating until all nurse were treated and paid equal; he could not work for that company. Strangest thing I have ever seen.

[Dayray, RN]

I'm not sure what others experiences are all I can speak of are my own. As a male nurse in a predominately female profession I have seen both advantage and disadvantage being a male.

A year ago I was looking for a new job and I found that some hospitals were eager to talk with me once they learned of my gender but others were not. Some came strait out and said they didn't want men working in their department and others made flimsy excuses that were obviously untrue (when they have a website saying they have 12 open positions). On the flip side though I did have some say that they would like to have me because of the added diversity.

Another issue I have heard come up is the way doctors and management treat male nurses. This is another area where I have experienced both extremes. I have had some doctors/managers that obviously treat me with more respect and others that openly ridicule me and treat me like crap.

I am by no means an expert on gender issues or a human resource person but I wonder if some the differences aren't brought about by personality type. I have been in health care for a long time and I have noticed that many times male nurses feel that they have to prove themselves and go to great lengths to do this. Because of the view people have of men in nursing many feel that they must show that they do belong in nursing. I've noticed that allot of guys tend to go overboard to show that they "know their stuff". This could explain why more men end up in managment positions.

In our culture we have many bias's one is that men should be aggressive while women should not. This could account for some of the disparity. Now please don't misunderstand me because I'm not saying that everyone does or should fall into these stereotypical roles. What I am saying is that our culture has taught us to expect certain personality types from each respective gender. As children we are taught these "roles" i.e. If a boy plays football and knocks the crap out of the other teams player he is praised where as if a girl does the same she would be seen as not fitting the expected role for her gender. So being taught this at an early age we tend to act the way we know people expect us too.

For example when I was offered my current position I really wanted it but I turned it down because I knew they would offer me more money if I did. Once they offered me more I negotiated with them until I felt I was getting the most they would offer.

So while I can believe that their are some cases where men might receive better treatment/pay, I find that many times the disparity is overstated and misunderstood. So please don't go around holding grudges against male nurses with the assumption that they receive more pay/recognition because of their gender.

You also have to consider the down side that men face in nursing. I watch peoples reactions when I tell them I'm a nurse and I don't get the same reaction that my friends do. Some openly laugh and say "Isn't that a girls job?" others look surprised and change the subject and many many times the next question they ask is "do you have children?" which is code for "are you gay?" Another aspect of this is constantly having to answer the "so why did you go into nursing" question that I get when ever I meet a new nurse, they don't ask other women. Everyone gets to have an opion on male nurses and weather it's good or bad it's a constant remider that you have gone aginst the gender norm.

So I guess what i am saying is that I can believe that some of the things in this report are true and although I find gender inequality disgusting I think that it is more of a cultural bias and fairly complicated rather then an out and out blatant decision by management to pay one gender more then the other.

Where do we go from here? for 1 don't let yourself be ruled by these silly cultural rules. Secondly teach your kids that men and women can be aggressive or non aggressive as the situation requires.

I tell my daughters that they can do anything a boy can do and I tell my son the same thing.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

For example when I was offered my current position I really wanted it but I turned it down because I knew they would offer me more money if I did. Once they offered me more I negotiated with them until I felt I was getting the most they would offer.

....

Where do we go from here? for 1 don't let yourself be ruled by these silly cultural rules. Secondly teach your kids that men and women can be aggressive or non aggressive as the situation requires.

Excellent point. I know that, of course, there are female exceptions(thank goodness!), but for the most part, I think that this is the cultural hingepin for women not earning as much as men. This is not to say that I am laying the blame at our collective female feet, as we are still raised differently from men and so without concerted effort, we act and react differently in various situations, but I do believe, just by more aggressive tactics (and unfortunately, I do believe that women need to watch their lipstick and mind their stockings while acting in an aggressive manner, which i HATE) we can receive better pay.

Companies are greedy. They will hire anyone as low as they can hire, men and women. And I bet there will still be a discrepancy even if women begin to be more aggressive, but I also believe that the discrepancy will be less than it is now.

One more way to advance in terms of pay.