The Highest Earning Women Have These Qualities In Common (Infographic)

By Joyce Wu | LearnVest

We’d all love a boost in our salaries, and we’re willing to take on a few extra projects to get there. But what if the number on our paycheck isn’t just about hard work?

We’ve already heard that women who keep their maiden names tend to earn $500,000 more over their lifetimes, but that’s not the only unexpected predictor of earning potential.

So we decided to plumb the research and put together the stereotypical highly-paid woman based on all the statistics. In other words, if you know a blonde, Asian, non-smoking pharmacist named Deborah, she’s probably making more than you. Obviously these statistics are not necessarily causal, but no matter what, they’re interesting -- check out the highest earning woman’s stats below.

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Comments

[singermuse]

11:21 PM on 09/17/2011

Tall, blonde, thin, and from a privileged background. How much money was wasted on this "study" I wonder?

[WhatDaBleep]

11:48 AM on 09/14/2011

So, they don't sleep their way to the top anymore??? That is Sarcasm --- for the humorless toads out there.

[twfslc]

09:48 AM on 09/14/2011

I'm not sure that the data about income and order of birth makes sense. A friend of mine is the younger of a pair of siblings and has made more income than the older sibling since the day she graduated from college. She is the go-getter, and he never cared about making a lot of money.

My father was the youngest of three. The eldest sibling was a stay at home mother, but he made a bit more than his older brother starting at high graduation, because he worked in union plants. His income skyrocketed after going back to college on the GI Bill and moving into management.

[nottenkamper]

01:06 AM on 09/14/2011

All stupid ...except, a good looking woman with a degree can really go far. Appearances count, and then how one know their vocab, with determination to succeed, will take the cake.......a good combo.

[twfslc]

09:52 AM on 09/14/2011

Appearance does count. My father worked at a Fortune 50 company, and the clothes back in the 1970s were typical (loud plaids, loud shirts, loud ties). When a new CEO was hired from New York, he wore the typical Brooks Brothers look (blue suits, white shirts, and striped ties). Those who went to the power business look were far more likely to get better positions after a major reorganization than those who didn't overhaul their wardrobe.

[champions1]

06:54 PM on 09/13/2011

COME on Huff....this is junk science

[Rachel Naber Burke]

05:36 PM on 09/13/2011

I agree that this is junk. You can shape information to back whatever you want...and none of this actually helps women figure out how to improve their careers.

[HaeJee]

04:32 PM on 09/13/2011

It is sad to read the posting below. Many suggest that successful women MUST sleep to get to the top. That kind of suggestion only shows the jealous side of the accuser. I am not sure where they get these statistics, but I know MANY professional women who are very successful and do not meet these stereotypes.

[Ken Holden]

12:42 PM on 09/13/2011

You mean to tell me that women who are not short and fat and care about how they dress. Dont smell like an ash tray and will have a drink. Get paid more wow who would of ever guessed

[4me2knw]

01:47 PM on 09/13/2011

Ken Holden? From the Virginia Foot Hills? I think I know you. Attorney? The Forum?

[keemia]

12:32 PM on 09/13/2011

So... tall skinny attractive blonds who are born into rich families (and can therefore continue to go get their MBAs) make the most money. More or less. Not a big surprise, huh.

[4me2knw]

11:53 AM on 09/13/2011

OK, I get it. The sexist men are still running things. You've got to be blonde, beautiful, tall, thin, drink but not smoke and have a college degree to make the most money. No mention of job qualifications. Men still hiring with their little head instead of their big head.

[Bink Miller]

02:51 PM on 09/13/2011

Maybe that's why business is so screwed up now. We have people at the top who have no qualifications to be there because they have no idea who to hire. I worked for a company where one of the execs hired his fraternity brothers or their girlfriends for his department. Wasn't long before his department went downhill.

[360Dunk]

11:14 AM on 09/13/2011

Women who don't slip and fall face first off the brass stripper pole tend to make more money than those who do.

[shockaslim]

10:03 AM on 09/13/2011

All of the female supervisors where I work (which is about 90 percent of all of the supervisors) have one trait in common. I bet you can guess which one it is.

[bmora]

09:56 AM on 09/13/2011

They are all women?

[Bink Miller]

02:39 PM on 09/13/2011

I'll guess, they are tall and have big boobs, right? It sounds like we have gone back to the sex saturated sixties. Sexism has become rampant in the 21st century, we are moving backwards instead of forward. What about women over 40? If they don't have thousands of dollars of plastic surgery are they now relagated to the unemployment line? Sad.

[Stephanie Gilley]

09:48 AM on 09/13/2011

How much of this has to do with the fact that men are the ones determining who to hire and what to pay?

[twfslc]

09:55 AM on 09/14/2011

Not true. When my wife decided to make a lateral transfer within the company, the two people who made the decision to hire her were her future boss, a vice president and a woman, and the CIO and senior vice president, who was also a woman.

[frankieboy26]

09:43 AM on 09/13/2011

Women earning the highest salaries are egotistical, self-centered, self-absorbed, controlling bitches. So are the men who earn the highest salaries, but they're considered "good businessmen."