While progress toward gender parity remains slow, several career paths offer above-average representation of women as well as high pay, according to a report from Resume Genius published Mar. 3.
Resume Genius, an online career platform and resume builder, identified the top 10 careers with high median salaries and projected job growth in which women make up 50% or more of workers, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“All of these roles are very high-paying, and require specialized knowledge and skills,” says Resume Genius career expert Eva Chan. “For women who are very ambitious [and] want to go up the career ladder, those are very good roles to aspire to.”
Chan notes that many of the jobs are in the health care industry, including roles like physician assistant and nurse practitioner. Historically, women have been drawn to jobs in health care because they can be “a little bit more flexible” with scheduling, according to career coach Colleen Paulson, which “helps to keep women in the workforce through life changes like having kids.”
Health care roles often come with well-defined advancement opportunities and attractive salaries and benefits, Chan says, making it easier for women to make long-term plans. These jobs also offer “very stable” career paths due to the rising demand for health care professionals, she says.
According to Resume Genius, these are the top 10 highest-paying, women-led careers, as well as each role’s median salary, the percentage of women in the field, its estimated growth between 2024 and 2034 and the educational requirements associated with it.
1. Financial manager
Median annual salary: $161,700
Proportion of women: 53%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 15%
Education: Bachelor’s degree
2. Human resources manager
Median annual salary: $140,030
Proportion of women: 76%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 5%
Education: Bachelor’s degree
3. Pharmacist
Median annual salary: $137,480
Proportion of women: 60%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 5%
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy
4. Physician assistant
Median annual salary: $133,260
Proportion of women: 73%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 20%
Education: Master’s degree
5. Public relations and fundraising manager
Median annual salary: $132,870
Proportion of women: 70%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 5%
Education: Bachelor’s degree
6. Nurse practitioner
Median annual salary: $132,050
Proportion of women: 88%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 35%
Education: Master’s degree
7. Veterinarian
Median annual salary: $125,510
Proportion of women: 69%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 10%
Education: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
8. Medical and health services manager
Median annual salary: $117,960
Proportion of women: 74%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 23%
Education: Bachelor’s degree
9. Occupational therapist
Median annual salary: $98,340
Proportion of women: 88%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 14%
Education: Master’s degree
10. Speech-language pathologist
Median annual salary: $95,410
Proportion of women: 95%
Estimated job growth 2024–2034: 15%
Education: Master’s degree
Representation is slowly rising for some roles
The report also identified several high-paying careers in which women’s representation is low but rising, including roles like mechanical engineer and surgeon. Still, occupational segregation remains a concern, Paulson says.
For example, while the percentage of women in mechanical engineering has nearly doubled — from 6% in the 1980s to 11% in 2024, according to Resume Genius’ data — women are still vastly underrepresented in the field, says Paulson, who previously worked as a mechanical engineer.
In Paulson’s experience, woman are often deterred from pursuing these career fields by the prospect of being the only woman in a male-dominated environment. “While it’s great to see that representation is increasing, it’s still probably not where we really want it to be,” she says.
Part of the solution is for companies to prioritize an inclusive workplace culture, she says. That could mean sponsoring internships for early-career women, creating mentorship groups or hosting networking events.
“It starts with welcoming younger women in a real way and making it so that they want to stay in the field,” Paulson says.
Chan is encouraged to see more “leadership, influence and progress” for women in these high-paying but historically male-dominated roles, she says. But “there is always going to be more work to be done.”
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