A new gender pay gap study from Pegasus Legal Capital reveals that some of the largest wage disparities in the U.S. appear not in low-wage jobs, but in high-earning, highly specialized professions, fields where equal pay would be expected due to standardized training, licensing requirements, and credentialing. Yet the study finds women continue to earn substantially less than men across many of these roles, often losing tens of thousands of dollars per year and hundreds of thousands, sometimes more than a million, over the course of a career.
Despite federal protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and expanded workplace protections recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020, the study reports that women still earn 83 cents for every $1 earned by men under the uncontrolled measure. Even when comparing similar jobs and comparable qualifications, women earn $0.99 per male dollar, indicating persistent inequity within equivalent roles.
The study also underscores how widespread gender discrimination feels in practice, reporting that 41% of women say they experienced gender discrimination during a job interview, meaning the pay gap may begin even before employment starts, shaping who gets hired, at what level, and at what starting salary.
The Ten Occupations With the Widest Gender Pay Imbalances
The study’s occupational ranking highlights the ten professions with the largest annual wage gaps. The largest gap appears among dentists, where women earn $49,334 less per year than men on average. That gap is especially striking because dentistry is a highly regulated medical field with standardized education and professional licensing conditions that should reduce wage variability.
At the highest leadership level, female chief executives earn nearly $39,400 less per year than male executives, indicating that wage disparity remains entrenched even at the top of organizational hierarchies. The study notes that executive compensation is often shaped by negotiation, networks, and discretionary bonuses, which can create structural inequities that persist year after year.
Healthcare roles dominate much of the top ten list. The study finds that female dental hygienists earn nearly $31,000 less annually than men, while women working as cardiovascular technologists and technicians face an annual shortfall of $28,700. Women in diagnostic roles also see major disparities: female diagnostic medical sonographers earn $27,000 less than men.
The report highlights that healthcare, being a female-majority industry, does not guarantee pay equity within healthcare occupations. In several cases, the study suggests, specialization and leadership tracks within healthcare may be more accessible to men, and pay may differ due to assignment, scheduling, or promotion pathways even when job titles appear similar.
Technology and analytics roles also appear among the widest-gap occupations. The study reports that women employed as database administrators and architects earn over $28,000 less per year, despite the advanced technical skills and organizational impact required in these positions.
Other roles on the list include chiropractic care, criminal investigation, cost estimation, and talent management, with annual gaps ranging from $19,000 to $28,000.
The Career Cost: Losses That Reach Into the Millions
The study emphasizes that annual wage gaps are only the beginning. When pay disparities persist over decades, the cumulative loss becomes staggering. Based on a 30-year career span, the study estimates:
- Dentists: approximately $1.5 million in lost earnings
- Chief executives: approximately $1.2 million
- Dental hygienists / cardiovascular technologists / diagnostic medical sonographers: approximately $800,000 to $900,000
- Database administrators and architects: approximately $800,000 to $850,000
These losses can reshape a woman’s entire financial life: retirement contributions, investment growth, home equity, emergency savings, and even the ability to weather unemployment or medical costs. The study also notes that wage gaps can indirectly affect family outcomes because women frequently contribute significantly to household income.
Why Specialized Fields Still Show Big Gaps
The report argues that persistent gaps in high-skilled fields point to structural rather than individual explanations. Limited pay transparency can prevent women from recognizing disparities. Fear of retaliation, mandatory arbitration agreements, and nondisclosure clauses can discourage internal reporting. And because enforcement often relies on individual complaints rather than proactive audits, wage inequities may remain hidden.
The study concludes that wage inequality is not limited to any single sector; it is present in leadership, healthcare, technical roles, and public safety-related work. And in the highest-gap roles, women are not losing “a little” each year—they are losing wealth-building opportunity at a scale large enough to change life outcomes.
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