Survey finds that women in the chemical engineering workforce have lower average salaries than their male colleagues after 11 years of service
July 2023 - Chemicals
Survey finds that women in the chemical engineering workforce have lower average salaries than their male colleagues after 11 years of service: Research by the American Institute of Chemistry and Engineering (AIChE) has found that following a decade of experience and work in the sector, the earning power of male ChEs is greater than women as they reach more senior levels.
The 11th edition of the 2023 American Institute of Chemistry and Engineering (AIChE) Salary Survey was conducted by the CEP in December 2022 and polled more than 1,100 people working within the sector, with more than three-quarters of survey participants being men. This is the same story as the previous two surveys in 2021 and 2019 and highlights how women continue to be underrepresented in the sector.
While men and women were found to have similar median salaries in the earlier days of their careers (less than 11 years of experience), the older and more experienced they become, the pay gap widens, with male workers in-general having higher salaries, found the survey. Amongst respondents who have worked in the sector for 16 - 20 years, for example, male workers were found to earn a median salary $24,000 greater than women.
The 2023 survey also revealed that while 22% of overall respondents were women, the proportion was much higher amongst the 25–30-year-old bracket, where 37% were women. This echoes another survey which found that 38.5% of bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering were awarded in 2021.
Also revealed by the research was that 17% of the respondents polled overall had resigned from a role in the past two years, with more than half of those surveyed (55%) saying they left to find a better company culture. This was greater than the number of ChEs saying they left to find a higher salary.
Whilst in previous years the survey, which is carried out every two years, was only open to the AIChE members, the 2023 survey was extended to other chemical engineers.
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