Here’s Why Women Feel Underemployed (Hint: It’s All in the Major)

This Great Graphic was posted by Christopher Ingraham on the Washington Post's Wonkblog. It shows the results of a survey conducted by PayScale. It shows the percentage of people by undergraduate majors that identified themselves as underemployed. Underemployed refers to the feeling that one's job did not put their education or experience to work as much as they should.

What is striking is that it is not just liberal arts majors who complain about being underemployed. Some ostensibly more practical majors, like criminal justice and business management graduates, identify themselves as underemployed in greater numbers than liberal arts or general studies. The PayScale survey found 43% of the respondents felt underemployed and poor pay was a leading factor.

There is another consideration here. PayScale found that nine of the ten most underemployed majors were dominated by women. Underemployment may be, at least partly, a function of the gender wage gap.

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Ingraham also presented the results of last year's survey by Georgetown University Center on Education and Workforce that was summarized in the Daily Beast by Christina Hoff Sommers. That survey found that the least underemployed majors were dominated by men. And men overwhelmingly dominated the highest paid majors:

  1. Petroleum Engineering: 87% male
  2. Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration: 48% male
  3. Mathematics and Computer Science: 67% male
  4. Aerospace Engineering: 88% male
  5. Chemical Engineering: 72% male
  6. Electrical Engineering: 89% male
  7. Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering: 97% male
  8. Mechanical Engineering: 90% male
  9. Metallurgical Engineering: 83% male
  10. Mining and Mineral Engineering: 90% male

Among the ten least paid majors, women dominate nine.

  1. Counseling Psychology: 74% female
  2. Early Childhood Education: 97% female
  3. Theology and Religious Vocations: 34% female
  4. Human Services and Community Organization: 81% female
  5. Social Work: 88% female
  6. Drama and Theater Arts: 60% female
  7. Studio Arts: 66% female
  8. Communication Disorders Sciences and Services: 94% female
  9. Visual and Performing Arts: 77% female
  10. Health and Medical Preparatory Programs: 55% female

Sommers argued that the gender wage gap does not really exist. She argues that it is a question of life choices. In particular, she states: "Much of the wage gap can be explained away by simply taking account of college majors." We suspect the situation is more complicated and the causal links are not clear. Could women be encouraged to have certain majors, formally or informally? Could work that women do not be as valued as work that men do?

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