More Young Women Want to Earn the Big Bucks

Even more so than young men, says Pew survey
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 19, 2012 4:26 PM CDT
More Young Women Want to Earn the Big Bucks
A higher percentage of young women compared to young men value high pay.   (Shutterstock)

Among today's young people, more young women are eager to rake in cash than are their male counterparts. Some two-thirds of 18- to 34-year-old women say a successful, high-paying job is "one of the most important things" or "very important" to them, a Pew report finds, compared to 59% of young men. That's a change from 1997, when 56% of women and 56% of men were equally keen on high pay. A Pew rep chalks the difference up in part to women's increased education levels.

"This younger generation of women are more highly skilled and educated, so they can compete in a different way," she says. About 57% of today's college students are women, USA Today notes. But the gap in pay between the sexes remains a problem: Women earn just 77% of what men take in, another poll this week shows. The gap appears to widen according to age. While 25- to 34-year-old women earn some 91% of what men their age earn, the figure is 75-80% among women 35 and older. But the value women place on high pay hasn't overridden other priorities: More young women—37%—say a successful marriage is "one of the most important things" than in 1997, when 28% said the same. Click through for more from the Pew report. (More equal pay stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X