Pay Equity: A Tale of Two Counties
Many of us have heard the national statistics about women earning 72 cents for every dollar earned by men. In Washington State, women earned just 66 cents, according to a 1996 study prepared by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a Washington D.C. think tank. The measurement compared the average wage paid to women employed full time to the average wage paid to men employed full time. It was a measurement of the value of time, and did not take into account the kind of work done by either men or women.
"Pay Equity" is a concept with more than one definition. For purposes of this analysis, pay equity is the concept that the work of men and women is remunerated on a "fair" and "just" basis in the labor market; statistics about the pay gap may imply that current compensation practices are not "fair" and "just". The national and state statistics refer to the national and state labor markets and sparked this analysis.
For some, the concept of pay equity applies only to the same job class. Using this definition, studies on the pay of men and women within the same job have shown a much smaller pay gap than the national or state statistics cited here suggested. Some of that gap was attributable to the shorter length of time women had in the profession, with the employer or with the industry.
Pay equity issues may arise due to different kinds of jobs, differential treatment and/or conditions within the same job, differences in the amount of work time, and any combination of these dynamics within a given labor market.
This analysis addressed different kinds of jobs within the labor market, perhaps the simplest of the four possibilities to work with, since some data was readily available. The data was based on 1990 Census for occupations by race and sex and the most recent wage surveys for King and Spokane Counties.
The intent of this analysis was not to look at the specific dynamics leading to differential jobs and wages, but to explore the ways in which these differential jobs and wages impact or reflect the local economy. By spotlighting King and Spokane counties, the analysis would contrast two very different labor markets, an industrial urban environment and an urban service and trade center.
Spotlight on King County
Looking at King County employment patterns Chart 1: "Top 20 Jobs in King County", these occupations represented 30 percent of the total workforce. King County was a robust economy with high demand for occupations requiring high level skills. The median household income in 1997 was $53,208.
The chart displayed each occupation by size of employment and gender composition. In many instances, these occupations were dominated to a large degree by one gender. Occupations dominated by one gender at rates of 75 percent or more were considered "traditional" and were labeled with a (T) (see Chart 1.).
Out of these twenty jobs, nine jobs had employment mixed with men and women in proportions that were less than 75%. These included the cashier (73.5% women), elementary school teacher (74.9% women), accountant (57.4% women), sales, wholesale (26.0% women), retail sales (66.5% women), janitor (29.4% women), computer engineer (34.1% women), sales, real estate (44.1% women), assembler (34.1% women).
"Non-traditional" employment for women would be in occupations such as engineer (8.9% women), truck driver (9.3% women), carpenter (3.0% women), and production supervisor (19.0% women).
"Non-traditional" employment for men would be in occupations such as secretary (1.8% men), accounting clerk (9.3% men), registered nurse (6.5% men), general office clerk (17.7% men), waiter (24% men), nursing aide (18.4% men), and receptionist (3.9% men).
The next chart Chart 2:"Top 20 Jobs Held by Women in King County" looked at the twenty most typical occupations for women and the average hourly pay rate. These jobs accounted for about forty percent of the employment of women in King County. The average wage for these twenty occupations was calculated by multiplying the number of women employed in these jobs by the average wage for each job, taking the sum of the wages and dividing it by the total employment of women. The average wage was $13.25 an hour (see Chart 2).
The next chart Chart 3:"Wom en’sEmployment and Wage Rates in King County" displayed in a different manner the same information in the previous chart. Each dot on the scattergram represented the convergence between the number employed and the hourly pay rate for each occupation. It showed only three occupations with hourly pay rates exceeding $20 an hour and a large cluster of nine occupations with hourly pay rates of less than $10 an hour. It showed five occupations that employed more than 15,000 women, indicating a relative concentration of employment (see Chart 3) . How did this employment pattern compare to the employment pattern of men?
This chart Chart 4: "Top 20 Jobs Held by Men in King County" displayed the twenty most typical occupations employing men. These jobs account for almost thirty percent of the employment of men and the average wage was $20.50 an hour (See Chart 4).
The scattergram Chart 5: "Men’s Employment and Wages in King County" showed six occupations with hourly pay rates exceeding $20 an hour and only three occupations with hourly pay rates of less than $10 an hour. It showed only two occupations that employed more than 15,000 men, indicating a relatively broad dispersion of employment opportunities (see Chart 5). The wage differential for all of the jobs listed in Charts 2 and 4 showed women earning an average 65 cents for every dollar earned by men in King County.
Spotlight on Spokane County
A similar set of labor market data for Spokane County described a very different economic structure and different employment patterns. Spokane County is a major urban service and trade center for a broad regional economy that is dominated by agriculture and mining. The median household income in 1997 in Spokane County was $35,837.
The chart Chart 6: "Top 20 Jobs in Spokane County" displayed each occupation by size of employment and gender composition. These twenty occupations represented 30 percent of the total workforce, the same proportion of the labor force in King County (see Chart 6).
Out of 20 occupations, thirteen of these occupations would be defined as traditional to one gender. There were seven exceptions in the list. These jobs where the mix of men and women were in proportions less than 75% were elementary school teacher (73.7% women), sales, retail (68.7% women), accountant (53.7% women), assembler (34.1% women), stock handlers (28.9% women), food service and lodging managers (45.7% women), and food preparation workers (42.1% women).
"Non-traditional" employment for women in Spokane County would be in occupations such as truck driver (8.1% women), janitor (23.2% women), wholesale sales (15.7% women), general laborer (15.8% women), and carpenter (1.8% women).
"Non-traditional" employment for men would be in occupations such as registered nurse (9.8% men), cashier (23.8% men), accounting clerk (9.7% men), general office clerk (17.0% men), secretary (1.3% men), maid (14.3% men), nursing aide (19.3% men), and waiter (17.5% men).
The next chart Chart 7: "Top 20 Jobs Held by Women in Spokane County" looked at the twenty most typical occupations for women and the average hourly pay rate. These jobs accounted for about forty-five percent of the employment of women, a somewhat higher proportion than in King County, which was at forty percent. The average wage was $11.04 an hour (see Chart 7).
This scattergram, Chart 8: "Women’s Employment and Wage Rates in Spokane County" displayed in a different manner the same information given in the previous chart. It showed no occupations with hourly pay rates exceeding $20 an hour and a large cluster of thirteen occupations with hourly pay rates of less than $10 an hour. It showed seven occupations that employed more than 2,000 women, indicating a relative concentration of employment opportunities (see Chart 8). How did this employment pattern compare to the employment pattern of men in Spokane County?
This chart Chart 9: "Top 20 Jobs Held by Men in Spokane County" displayed the twenty most typical occupations employing men. These jobs account for almost thirty percent of the employment of men and the average wage was $13.57 an hour, only 32 cents above the average wage paid to women in King County (see Chart 9).
The scattergram Chart 10: "Men’s Employment and Wages in Spokane County" showed two occupations with hourly pay rates exceeding $20 an hour and seven occupations with hourly pay rates of less than $10 an hour. It showed three occupations that employed more than 2,000 men, indicating a relatively broad dispersion of employment opportunities (see Chart 10)..
In Spokane County, there were not as many high paying jobs compared to King County. In Spokane County, men who traditionally held the higher paying jobs found themselves with a lower average pay when this occupational pattern was compared to King County. Not having as many high paying jobs in this labor market also lowered the overall pay for everyone in the labor market.
The wage differential for all the jobs listed in Charts 7 and 9 showed women earned 81 cents for every dollar earned by men in Spokane County.
Focus on Low Wage Jobs
What was the employment pattern for those occupations that were low paying? For the sake of discussion, an average hourly wage rate of $10 an hour was selected arbitrarily.
In King County, the occupations with the largest employment and an average wage of less than $10 an hour were Cashiers, Retail Sales, Data Entry Keyers, Receptionists, Food Preparation Workers, Hairdressers, Janitors, Maids, Nursing Aides and Waitresses. The chart Chart 11: "Jobs with Average Pay of $10 an Hour or Less in King County" displayed wage ranges that incorporated average high wage rates and average low wage rates, not the absolute high and low wage rates reported on our wage studies. In the ten occupations identified as low wage jobs, six had more than 75 percent women. The three exceptions were Cashier (73.5% women), Retail Sales (67% women), Food Preparation Workers (41% women), and Janitors (29% women). Almost seven out of ten employees in these select low wage occupations earning less than $10 an hour were women (see Chart 11).
Turning to Chart 12: "Wage Pattern for Jobs Paying an Average of Less Than $10 Per Hour in Spokane County In Spokane County, there were fourteen occupations with the largest employment and an average wage of less than $10 an hour. The occupations comprised the same ten jobs identified in King County plus Food Service and Lodging Managers, General Office Clerks, Groundskeepers and Assemblers. Eight of the fourteen occupations were identified as employing 75 percent or more women. Six occupations were not the "traditional" occupations employing women. The six occupations were Retail Sales (68.7% women), Food Service and Lodging Managers (45.7% women), Food Preparation Workers (42.1% women), Assemblers (34.1% women), Janitors (23.2% women), and Groundskeepers (7.3% women). Almost two out of three (65%) employees in these select low wage occupations earning less than $10 an hour were women (see Chart 12).
Discussion
Pay equity issues were linked partly to the dynamics of the local economy. This should not be surprising since jobs are attached to a variety of industries and, conversely, certain industries require the employment of certain types of jobs. Some jobs are attached to a larger degree to certain industries.
The King County labor market with its manufacturing base required a relatively higher proportion of engineers and others with skills related to this industry. Spokane County, with its service and trade base, required the relatively higher proportion of truck drivers and those with skills related to the distribution of goods. For example, engineers paid an average of $26.03 in King County lifted the average wage rates for the entire labor market. They accounted for nearly 3 percent of the civilian labor force. Engineers paid an average of $22.87 in Spokane County account for less than one percent of the labor force. Truck drivers in Spokane County were paid an average of $12.69 and accounted for almost 2.5 percent of the labor force. Truck drivers in King County were paid an average of $12.90 and were less than two percent of the labor force.
The employment patterns found in King and Spokane Counties showed women concentrated in low wage occupations. In King County, these ten occupations represented about 7 percent of the overall employment; in Spokane County, these fourteen occupations represented almost 11 percent of the employment. Working women comprised between 65 and 70 percent of this low wage employment, regardless of the labor market employing them.
In a job-by-job comparison of the employment of men and women in the two labor markets, the percent of women and men in any of the selected jobs generally was within a few percentage points. For example, women employed as Insurance Sales people comprised 37.9% of the employment in King County, and 36.1% in Spokane County. There were a few notable exceptions however.
With the growing demand for computer engineers, women comprised a larger proportion in King County compared to Spokane County (34.1% compared to 25.7%). More women were employed as wholesale sales representatives in King County as compared to Spokane (26.0% compared to 15.7%). And, there were a slightly higher percentage of women accountants (57.4% compared to 53.7%) and women lawyers (26.9% compared to 22.8%) in King County.
In Spokane County among those employed as licensed practical nurses (LPN), women comprised 86.5%; in King County, they comprised 93.5%.
In reviewing the labor market data for these two counties, it was typical to find women in jobs that pay less than men even when the economies were very different. In a comparison with the top twenty jobs held by women and men in King County, women earned an average 65 cents for every dollar earned by men. Similarly in Spokane County, women earned an average 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. However, the experience of pay inequity was muted in Spokane County compared to King County because pay differences were only 81 cents rather than the more extreme 65 cents for every dollar earned by men.
As long as these employment patterns persist, issues of pay equity will be experienced differently in the various regional labor markets.
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