Where Women Work and How Much They Earn

More than 820,000 jobs at Oregon businesses and state and local governments were held by women in 2014. Women represent 49 percent of employment in Oregon, but the share of jobs held by women varies considerably by industry.

Women’s average earnings were $3,217 per month in 2014, which was 68 percent of the $4,712 average monthly earnings of men. The average woman brings home nearly $1,500 a month less than the average man. Like employment, the earnings of women relative to men varies by industry.

The average monthly paycheck for women is about two-thirds the average monthly paycheck for men, but this fact is not a very useful measure of gender pay inequality. Average monthly earnings figures do not take into account other factors affecting pay, such as total hours worked and hourly wages. Adjusting for the number of hours worked narrows the earnings gap between women and men, but still does not account for other factors that can significantly affect pay.

Women working in Oregon’s health care and social assistance sector have an average monthly paycheck of $3,453, which is just 61 percent of the men’s average. Women working in finance and insurance have a higher average paycheck than women in most other industries, but their earnings pale in comparison to what men are bringing in. With earnings just 55 percent of men’s, women in finance and insurance receive an average of nearly $3,800 a month less than what men are making.

To learn more about women's average earnings by industry, read State Employment Economist Nick Beleiciks' article "Where Women Work and How Much They Earn".