Women in O.C. Still Underpaid By One-Third

More than two decades after the feminist revolution, women in Orange County’s work force are still being paid a third less than their male counterparts in similar jobs and continue to be relegated largely to subservient roles, even in professions in which they outnumber men.

A study by The Times of data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that the average salary for a woman working in Orange County is about $27,000--compared to nearly $40,000 for men.

Nationally, women make about 70% as much as men, but in Orange County the gap is even greater, with women earning 68 cents for every dollar made by a man.

The pay gap is particularly noticeable in high-profile professions such as medicine and the law, where women make half as much as men. Female doctors in Orange County average $57,000 compared to more than $114,000 for men, while female lawyers and judges earn an average of about $55,000 even as men in the same professions make about $98,000.

But other professions also have inequities. Males who are teachers, counselors or librarians--positions in which women outnumber men in Orange County by more than 2 to 1--get paid $42,000 compared to $34,000 for women. Male accountants and auditors make $41,000 compared to about $26,000 for women. Among administrative managers, men earn nearly $50,000 compared to $25,000 for women.

Male sales supervisors also make nearly double than their female counterparts, $47,000 compared to $24,000. Among the clergy, men earn $28,000 to $20,000 for women. In the county’s aerospace industry, men average $48,000 to $36,000 for women. Male computer programmers make nearly $37,000 to about $30,000 for women.

Such discrepancies underscore that Orange County, a region long considered a model of economic progressiveness and entrepreneurial spirit, is not immune from the sorts of pay disparities between the sexes that have fueled the ongoing national debate over comparable worth and the status of women in the work force.

“Orange County is no different than anyplace else,” said Sandra Young, owner of Women’s Focus, a Tustin-based career development company for women. “The glass ceiling is still alive and well, the gender wage gap still exists and women are still falling behind on the job.”

But one expert cautioned that the numbers gleaned from the census data must be viewed with caution.

Judy B. Rosener, a UC Irvine professor in the Graduate School of Management, said the census data lumps too wide a range of job categories together, in some cases throwing in middle mangers with company chief executives.

“I think some of the numbers mask what’s really happening,” she said. “If you compare the women in the middle with the men in the middle, you find it’s much closer.”

Nonetheless, Rosener said the wage gap does continue to exist, in large part because women are “devalued” by a society that remains dominated by men.

“Women are still seen as somehow different,” Rosener said. “They are still subconsciously perceived differently, and therefore treated differently when it comes to pay. And I really do believe it’s subconscious. I do not believe that men consciously say, ‘You’re a woman, and I’m therefore not going to pay you as much.’ ”

But some suggest that the differences in pay are all too conscious.

Lisa McClanahan, a National Organization for Women official in Orange County, speculated that the region’s political climate has a lot to do with the way women are faring on the job.

“I think the political attitudes and leanings in Orange County have a lot to do with what we’re seeing in these numbers,” McClanahan said. “When people are in a conservative political mode, women’s rights just tend to go down the tubes.”

Others said politics may have less to do with the wage gap than the slowly shifting attitudes of American society.

“It’s one of the definite disadvantages for women workers,” said Linda Pinson, Orange County chapter president of the National Assn. of Women Business Owners. “What I think we’re having to do is allow women to work their way up until they’re seen with the same credibility as men. It is something that will happen, but it will take time. It’s an evolutionary thing.”

Several experts said women in Orange County, like working women across the country, have been hurt on payday because they’ve only begun to make serious advances into the workplace in recent decades and lack seniority in numerous professions.

In the county’s large health services community, for instance, women make up nearly three-quarters of the workers, yet nearly 80% of the doctors are men. Meanwhile, 87% of the nurses and therapists are women.

Moreover, women in Orange County have continued to drift in large numbers toward clerical and other support jobs, which are notoriously underpaid and have been given the nickname “the pink ghetto” by some labor experts. More than twice as many women work in clerical positions as in any other job.

Young said her career development company typically advises women to steer clear of professions traditionally dominated by women because “whenever you look around and there’s no man in the field, the pay disparity is huge.” She shepherds many women toward male-dominated fields such as law enforcement, banking, mathematics and computers.

The census figures also indicated that women tend to fare a bit better in fields dominated by labor unions. Male machine operators, for instance, made about $24,000 compared to $17,000 for women, and men in construction trades made about $32,000 while women got about $25,000.

Women in Orange County get paid on a par with men in only two fields: Food preparation--both sexes make about $17,000 annually--and health aides, positions in which women are paid better than men, $24,000 compared to $22,000.

Some experts say women have been hurt most because of basic wage discrimination by their bosses, most of whom are men. The most glaring examples come in law and medicine.

Legal firms across the nation have been under fire in recent years over the dearth of women in coveted partnership spots in law practices. “It’s a buyers’ market,” said Young, the career development expert. “There are more attorneys than are needed, so it’s become a numbers game.”

Rosener of UC Irvine suggested that a chief reason for wage disparities in law and medicine are that the elite ranks of such professions are still subconsciously perceived by many people--including women--as exclusive bastions for men.

Women have made inroads in recent years as general practitioners and gynecologists, but few have become surgeons, typically the highest-paying job in medicine. “It isn’t conscious. It’s a kind of perception of what constitutes a surgeon,” Rosener said. “Women often aren’t allowed in. It’s like the guy in a foxhole saying he doesn’t want to depend on a woman. A surgeon says, ‘I’m doing surgery! Do I want to depend on women?’ ”

Times statistical analyst Maureen Lyons also contributed to this story.

Women Work for Less

Working women in Orange County earn 68 cents for every dollar their male counterparts make. And in some high-profile occupational groups, such as health and legal professionals and executives, the level is closer to 50 cents.

Adjusted average salary* Men: $39,571 Women: $26,778 * Adjusted annual pay is calculated to compensate for those whose pay is lower because they work part time or for only part of the year. No adjustment was made for those working more than a 40-hour workweek.

*

Highest, Lowest Averages

The best-paying jobs for both men and women are in the health professional category.

Highest paying

Men Health professionals (doctors, etc.) $114,453 Women Health professionals (doctors, etc.) $57,197 Lowest paying Men Food preparation $17,372 Women Janitors, building cleaners $15,027

*

The Top Positions

Men dominate the top jobs in high-profile industry categories in which women make up most of the work force.

Men Women All legal services 40% 60% Lawyers, judges 78 22 All health services 26 74 Health professionals (doctors, etc.) 79 21

*

Where Women Are the Majority

More than half the county work force, 54%, is male, but there are some occupations in which women form the majority. Household domestics: 94% Nurses, therapists: 87% Health aides: 83% Personal service: 78% Health technicians: 77% Clerical, operators: 77% Teachers, counselors, librarians: 71% Social, recreational workers: 67% Social scientists, planners: 52% *

Average Workweek

Men work six hours longer each week than do women, on average. Men: 37.2 hours Women: 31.2 hours *

Out of Work

The group of county residents who have been out of work since 1984 is heavily female. Women: 68% Men: 32% Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Researched by MAUREEN LYONS / Los Angeles Times

RESEARCH SOURCES

This Times study is based on just-released Census Bureau data for California known as the Public Use Microdata Sample. The data contains the responses of a random sample of 5% of all households completing the detailed “long form” census questionnaire. That form was mailed to one out of every six residences nationwide. Names and addresses of respondents are not included, but the county in which they live is provided. The Orange County sample is 123,183. Because the data represents a sample, the margin of error is plus or minus 1%.