The Scientist, a weekly online life sciences journal, released the results of its Annual Life Sciences Salary Survey on September 12, 2006 (www.the-scientist.com/2005/09/12/45/1/printerfriendly, subscription required). This survey examines salaries in both academia and industry and breaks them down by gender, race and ethnicity, position held, and highest degree earned.

While the good news is that median salaries in the biological sciences rose by 3.8% over the past year, the bad, though not surprising, news is that the salary gap between women and men not only remains but increased by $200. Though the disparities are greatest overall in industry, the largest single gap occurs in academia, where a $28,500 salary disparity exists between male and female department heads. Male department heads earn a median salary of $148,500 (144 respondents), while female department heads earn a median salary of $120,000 (37 respondents). Gaps also remain in most of the other academic positions as well, particularly in the non-tenure track positions (including postdoctoral positions).

When broken down by both gender and highest degree earned, males out-earned females at every degree level between 2002 and 2005. The disparities were greatest among respondents who had earned their PhDs, where gaps have hovered between $16,000 and $20,000 since 2002.

Multiple theories are given to explain these gaps. In reference to the $28,500 gap between male and female department head salaries, it is generally acknowledged that not only do more men than women hold these high-level positions, but that the men also tend to have more seniority than their female counterparts. This explanation does not, however, explain the disparities found among junior faculty members—a disparity that was found across disciplines in the American Association of University Professors 2005 salary study, The Economic Status of the Profession—and postdoctoral researchers.

Experts explain the gaps at the lower levels by pointing out that women and men frequently opt to pursue different disciplines. Women are often less driven by the earning potential associated with particular fields/disciplines, and therefore tend to select less lucrative fields than men. Women are also more likely to pursue teaching jobs, which usually to pay less than more research-oriented positions. Women often also see their salaries affected by taking time to have and raise children, a reality that many departments are slowly beginning to address by changing their tenure systems.

The good news is that many colleges and universities are examining these issues on their campuses and, as you'll learn from reading the articles included in this issue of OCWW, implementing innovative strategies and programs to increase and sustain the number of women and people of color at all levels in the biological sciences.

For more detailed information about The Scientist Annual Salary Study, please visit at www.the-scientist.com.

Sources
Anderson, Maria W. and Ishani Ganguli. 2005. The Scientist's Annual Life Sciences Salary Survey. The Scientist, 19(17): 45.

Ganguli, Ishani. 2005. Women Still Paid Less. The Scientist, 19(17): 49.