It’s not news that we still have a gender pay gap – men are still earning more than women doing similar or equivalent jobs. One creative way that women might put their earnings on a par with men is to make different career choices. Perhaps it’s time to be more intentional about invading well-paid jobs that are traditionally held by men.
ForbesWoman recently created a list of the best-paying jobs women aren’t in–but should be. Who knew that detectives and criminal investigators were so well-paid and had such a low percentage of women?
We all hold biases, often unconsciously, about jobs that are suitable for men and women. That’s how we perpetuate sex-role stereotyping. So why not suggest to our daughters, as well as our sons, that they consider becoming an engineer, or an architect, a pilot or a criminal investigator? Why shouldn’t we have more female engineers and train drivers?
Perhaps you are ready for a career change yourself. Ever thought of being a chiropractor or railroad conductor? If we look at the low percentages of women in these traditional male jobs it’s obvious that there’s a lot of opportunity out there to break a few moulds and confront a lot of stereotypes — as well as earning a good salary of course.
Rank
Job
Median Weekly Earnings of Both Sexes
Percent Female
1
Chief executives
$1,903
23.4
2
Engineers
$1,458
12.1
3
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
$1,390
2.6
4
First-line supervisors/managers of fire fighting and preventing workers
$1,327
8.7
5
Locomotive engineers and operators
$1,223
2.8
6
Computer programmers
$1,218
22.4
7
First-line supervisors/managers of police and detectives
$1,200
14.7
8
Network systems and data communications analysts
$1,130
23.7
9
Architects, except naval
$1,128
24.8
10
Railroad conductors and yardmasters
$1,067
4.7
11
Cost estimators
$1,055
10
12
Detectives and criminal investigators
$1,053
19.2
13
Broadcast and sound engineering technicians and radio operators
$972
16.1
14
Fire fighters
$970
4.8
15
Chiropracters
$962
15.3
16
Power plant operators, distributors and dispatchers
$960
9.2
17
First-line supervisors/managers of construction and extraction workers
$947
2.7
18
First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers and repairers
Best Jobs Women Haven’t Discovered
ForbesWoman recently created a list of the best-paying jobs women aren’t in–but should be. Who knew that detectives and criminal investigators were so well-paid and had such a low percentage of women?
We all hold biases, often unconsciously, about jobs that are suitable for men and women. That’s how we perpetuate sex-role stereotyping. So why not suggest to our daughters, as well as our sons, that they consider becoming an engineer, or an architect, a pilot or a criminal investigator? Why shouldn’t we have more female engineers and train drivers?
Perhaps you are ready for a career change yourself. Ever thought of being a chiropractor or railroad conductor? If we look at the low percentages of women in these traditional male jobs it’s obvious that there’s a lot of opportunity out there to break a few moulds and confront a lot of stereotypes — as well as earning a good salary of course.
Rank
Job
Median Weekly Earnings of Both Sexes
Percent Female
1
Chief executives
$1,903
23.4
2
Engineers
$1,458
12.1
3
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
$1,390
2.6
4
First-line supervisors/managers of fire fighting and preventing workers
$1,327
8.7
5
Locomotive engineers and operators
$1,223
2.8
6
Computer programmers
$1,218
22.4
7
First-line supervisors/managers of police and detectives
$1,200
14.7
8
Network systems and data communications analysts
$1,130
23.7
9
Architects, except naval
$1,128
24.8
10
Railroad conductors and yardmasters
$1,067
4.7
11
Cost estimators
$1,055
10
12
Detectives and criminal investigators
$1,053
19.2
13
Broadcast and sound engineering technicians and radio operators
$972
16.1
14
Fire fighters
$970
4.8
15
Chiropracters
$962
15.3
16
Power plant operators, distributors and dispatchers
$960
9.2
17
First-line supervisors/managers of construction and extraction workers
$947
2.7
18
First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers and repairers
$937
8
19
Crane and tower operators
$925
3.7
20
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians
$919
1.7