Gender pay gap highest in US insurance industry

Most American women earn less than their male counterparts, but female agents see the biggest gaps in their paychecks.

Insurance News

By

American women earn just 82% of what their male counterparts do, according to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and analyst group 24/7 Wall St. And while the wage gap continues to lessen across all business sectors, women in the insurance industry are particularly hard done by.

Women working full-time as insurance agents—both captive and independent—earned $641 per week in 2012, compared to a median $1,026 in weekly income for men. That means women are making just 62.5% of what men are bringing in for performing the same job. In fact, the ratio is so unequal, it matches the wage gap in 1979, when all professional women were earning around 63% of what men did.

The pay gap is especially disturbing considering that as of 2012, women held about half the jobs in the agent and broker sector.

Female claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners and investigators also had a lot to complain about, analysts found. Women in these professions brought in just 69.3% of what their male counterparts earned, while holding two-thirds of the jobs.

24/7 Wall Street noted that workplace discrimination and the glass ceiling are among the biggest reasons women in all professions—including insurance—continue to be paid less. It may also be the reason just 6% of top executive positions across the sector were held by women, according to a Saint Joseph’s University study.

The findings reflect polling that took place at the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s 2013 Women in Insurance Global Conference. Of the 425 attendees, 65% of attendees said they believed “gender equality remains an issue within America” and another 82% said they felt gender inequality “still exists within the insurance industry.”

Substantial minorities said a lack of education and awareness, as well as reticence to properly promote themselves, are key to why women continue to experience inequality in the insurance sector. Others said their companies “are not doing anything” to promote gender parity.

Mike Angelina, who led the Saint Joseph’s study, believes that all is not lost for women in insurance, however. At the IICF conference, Angelina noted that executive leaders in the industry “are genuinely surprised and disappointed in the results and are interested in providing a solution.”

 

Keep up with the latest news and events

Join our mailing list, it’s free!