Spring Break
Survey shows men still earning more than women
Ashleigh Whaley
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: News
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TCU women earn lower salaries than men of equal status, according to a recent survey of 848 graduating seniors.
Of seniors surveyed last year by the Office of Institutional Research, 25 percent were employed full time, and among them, about 13 percent reported earning annual incomes of $80,000 or more, representing the highest income category and one with men only, according to the 2005-2006 Graduating Senior Survey Report.
Women are generally paid less because they choose lower paying occupations, said Cathy Coghlan, who is associate director of institutional research and prepared the document for review by faculty and staff.
"If a majority of women completing the survey are education majors, it makes sense that they would make less because of the occupation they've chosen than men from the business school," Coghlan said. "But a more in-depth analysis would need to be done."
About 33 percent of surveyed males reported majors in the Business School and 22 percent in the College of Science and Engineering.
Sixty percent of female respondents were evenly distributed within the AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Communication and the College of Nursing and Health Services.
According to the report, employment status does not contribute to the gender differences in salary.
Sociology professor Jean Giles-Sims said women earn less because they fail to negotiate their salaries with employers.
"Research indicates that people who don't negotiate are thought of as being less capable than those who do," said Giles-Sims, who teaches the class Men, Women and Society. "Women tend to have lower expectations than men because they don't have models historically to mentor and inform them of what they can get."
The gender gap at TCU is similar to a continuing gender gap nationwide. According to the 2005 U.S. Census Report, the mean annual income among women in non-family households was about $12,000 less than that of men.
Of seniors surveyed last year by the Office of Institutional Research, 25 percent were employed full time, and among them, about 13 percent reported earning annual incomes of $80,000 or more, representing the highest income category and one with men only, according to the 2005-2006 Graduating Senior Survey Report.
Women are generally paid less because they choose lower paying occupations, said Cathy Coghlan, who is associate director of institutional research and prepared the document for review by faculty and staff.
"If a majority of women completing the survey are education majors, it makes sense that they would make less because of the occupation they've chosen than men from the business school," Coghlan said. "But a more in-depth analysis would need to be done."
About 33 percent of surveyed males reported majors in the Business School and 22 percent in the College of Science and Engineering.
Sixty percent of female respondents were evenly distributed within the AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Communication and the College of Nursing and Health Services.
According to the report, employment status does not contribute to the gender differences in salary.
Sociology professor Jean Giles-Sims said women earn less because they fail to negotiate their salaries with employers.
"Research indicates that people who don't negotiate are thought of as being less capable than those who do," said Giles-Sims, who teaches the class Men, Women and Society. "Women tend to have lower expectations than men because they don't have models historically to mentor and inform them of what they can get."
The gender gap at TCU is similar to a continuing gender gap nationwide. According to the 2005 U.S. Census Report, the mean annual income among women in non-family households was about $12,000 less than that of men.
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