University Times

Wages of the average working woman in the region trail those of her local male counterparts and of her female colleagues in most of the nation’s large economic regions, according to a study released this week by the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR). The divergence could pose an obstacle to attracting businesses and employees, but the situation can be repaired through company policies and promoting the hiring of women in underrepresented fields, the researchers said.

Sabina Deitrick, co-director of UCSUR’s urban and regional analysis program, and Chris Briem, an UCSUR regional economist, used 2000 census data, the most recent available. Their study found that local women in commercial management earned just 58.3 percent of what local men in private-sector management positions earned and only 89.5 percent of the national median earnings for women in management. Women in management positions in the local not-for-profit sector fared slightly better, earning 64.3 percent of the pay for men. Men in both for-profit and not-for-profit management positions here, however, earned more than men nationally with 109.1 and 103.7 percent of average earnings, respectively.

In the public sector, the gap between male and female managers was narrower than the commercial and nonprofit sectors in both Pittsburgh and the nation.

Deitrick and Briem found that local industries and occupations are more gender-segregated than both the nation and most of the 100 largest metropolitan areas; Pittsburgh ranks 71st for gender integration in the workplace.

The report is available at www.ucsur.pitt.edu/publications.htm.