The 15 Best-Paying Jobs For Women In 2018

The number one job pays roughly $99,840 a year.

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In the push towards gender equality, women in the workplace face challenges that often feel out of their control — out-dated corporate policies, sexist colleagues and managers with subconscious hiring preferences, to name a few. But one of the few factors firmly in the hands of women is which career path to pursue.

By choosing one of the highest-paying fields, women can ensure that they’re putting themselves in the best position to earn as much as possible.

CNBC Make It analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which calculated median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in order to rank the 15 best-paying jobs for women. Only jobs with 50,000 workers or more were considered for the list (sorry, funeral service managers.)

While compensation can vary widely according to role, employer and industry as well as according to demographics such as age, race and ethnicity, these jobs represent a snapshot of the highest-paying opportunities for women.

15. Management analyst

Number of women: 255,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,315

Estimated annual earnings for women: $68,380

14. Civil engineer

Number of women: 61,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,343

Estimated annual earnings for women: $69,836

13. Computer programmer

Number of women: 89,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,363

Estimated annual earnings for women: $70,876

12. Financial analyst

Number of women: 108,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,369

Estimated annual earnings for women: $71,188

11. Physical scientist

Number of women: 122,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,409

Estimated annual earnings for women: $73,268

10. Engineer

Number of women: 73,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,436

Estimated annual earnings for women: $74,672

9. Psychologist

Number of women: 71,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,437

Estimated annual earnings for women: $74,724

8. Software developer

Number of women: 265,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,543

Estimated annual earnings for women: $80,236

7. Computer and information systems manager

Number of women: 165,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,629

Estimated annual earnings for women: $84,708

6. Physician assistant

Number of women: 66,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,640

Estimated annual earnings for women: $85,280

5. Lawyer

Number of women: 337,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,753

Estimated annual earnings for women: $91,156

4. Physician/Surgeon

Number of women: 352,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,759

Estimated annual earnings for women: $91,468

3. Nurse practitioner

Number of women: 129,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,832

Estimated annual earnings for women: $95,264

2. Pharmacist

Number of women: 147,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,834

Estimated annual earnings for women: $95,368

1. Chief executive

Number of women: 313,000

Median weekly earnings for women: $1,920

Estimated annual earnings for women: $99,840

Chief executive topped CNBC Make It’s list as the highest-paying job for women. According to BLS data, there were roughly 313,000 women working as chief executives in the United States in 2017. The median weekly earnings for women with this title is $1,920, which comes out to roughly $99,840 a year, indicating that very few women today are able to break that six-figure threshold.

When you compare these figures to the amounts that C-suite men are making, the gender pay gap is noticeable. The BLS reports that there were 2,415,000 men with this title in 2017 and their estimated median annual earnings were roughly $125,580.

The next highest-paying job for women is Pharmacist, a profession that actually has more women than men. There were roughly 147,000 women and 107,000 men with this job title last year. Despite the fact that the profession is dominated by women, men still earn more. The median weekly earnings for women is $1,834, while men bring in approximately $2,228 a week.

Several other jobs in the healthcare industry reported high earnings for women including nurse practitioner, surgeon and physician assistant.

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The 15 best-paying jobs for women in 2018 | CNBC Make It.