Gender Gap

By Elizabeth L. Bland, Janice M. Horowitz, Victoria Rainert, Jyoti Thottam, Rebecca Winters

The SALARIES of women and men in managerial jobs were even further apart in 2000 than in 1995 in seven of the 10 industries that employ the most women in the U.S., according to a GAO study. In 1995 FEMALE MANAGERS in entertainment earned 83[cents] for every $1 earned by a male manager; by 2000 female managers in that industry earned only 62[cents]. In communications, women in management went from 86[cents] to 73[cents]. ONE THEORY to explain the widening wage gulf is that in the booming labor market of the late '90s, job applicants could aggressively negotiate salaries. Research shows men tend to be better at it than women.