Progress or Complacency? Pay Equity for Women Circa 2001

Abstract

This article explores the issue of women's pay in social work within a comparative framework of several other service occupations. A secondary analysis of U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, data on wages and earnings revealed that substantial salary discrepancies on the basis of gender continue to exist throughout the service professions. An examination of the relationship between salary and gender for the position of chief executive officer of human-service related nonprofit organizations also revealed significant salary differences between men and women. Several strategic approaches to combat continued inequities are discussed within the context of the generally inhospitable political climate.