Women in legal occupations last year earned only about 51 percent of men's salaries in the field, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.
Women's median earnings in 2007 in the legal occupation were estimated at about $53,800, compared with about $105,200 for men.
Looking at specific occupations in the legal field, the salary gap was the largest among judges, magistrates and other judicial workers, with women earning an estimated $69,500, compared with men's $108,100, or about 64 percent of their salaries.
Women attorneys earned a median of $93,600, or about 78 percent of men's median earnings of $120,400.
The gap was still there, although smaller, for paralegals and legal assistants' salaries, with women earning a median salary of $42,600, compared with $45,700 for men, or about 93 percent of their salaries. In this area, however, women far outnumber men, with the Paralegal Management Association listing about 90 percent of its members as women.
The data were released in August in an American Community Survey report about income, earnings and poverty, a part of the U.S. Census Bureau. The report showed that men earned more than women in each of the 20 industry sectors.
The report is available online.
Incisive Media's Legal Blog Watch reported on this survey.
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Women in Legal Occupations Earned 51 Percent of Men's Salaries, Says Study
The National Law Journal
September 18, 2008
