Society and Culture > Gender Issues

20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women, U.S.

(2004 annual averages)

Occupations (in thousands) Percent
women		 Women's
median
usual weekly
earnings1		 Ratio of

women's earnings

to men's earnings
Total
employed
(women)		 Total
employed
(men and women)
Total, 16 years and over 44,223 101,224 43.7% $573 80.4%
Secretaries and administrative assistants 2,570 2,657 96.7 550 92.0
Elementary and middle school teachers 1,772 2,206 80.3 776 84.6
Registered nurses 1,651 1,800 91.7 895 86.8
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides 1,113 1,261 88.3 383 91.2
Cashiers 1,016 1,355 75.0 313 82.4
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support 1,001 1,441 69.5 636 80.3
First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers 985 2,246 43.9 505 68.5
Customer service representatives 967 1,379 70.1 504 88.3
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 916 1,004 91.2 542 96.3
Accountants and2006 auditors 842 1,385 60.8 757 74.5
Receptionists and information clerks 795 847 93.9 463 102.0
Retail salespersons 766 1,865 41.1 386 64.7
Maids and housekeeping cleaners 723 818 88.4 324 80.6
Office clerks, general 559 667 83.8 499 95.4
Secondary school teachers 555 1,013 54.8 824 86.3
Waiters and waitresses 538 799 67.3 327 82.0
Financial managers 535 961 55.7 839 60.1
Teacher assistants 500 545 91.7 373 n.a.
Preschool and kindergarten teachers 473 484 97.7 515 n.a.
Social workers 472 620 76.1 689 95.7
NOTE: n.a. = not available. Ranked by total number of women per occupation. Ratio not available where base is less than 50,000 workers of each sex.
1. Wage and salary for full-time workers.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women, U.S. (2006 annual averages) Gender Issues Timeline of Women’s Suffrage Granted, by Country
20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women, U.S.

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