Report: Salary-wise, a Female PhD Equals a Male BA

A recent Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce report says that "while occupation can sometimes trump education, degree level still matters most." However, it also notes that "in a surprising number of cases, people with less educational attainment earn more than those with more education." Moreover, the Georgetown report adds that "race/ethnicity and gender are wild cards that can determine [pay], more than education or occupation." It's one chart, on page 10 of the report, that has bloggers buzzing: Put simply, by PZ Myers at Pharyngula, the chart shows that "a Y chromosome is the same as a PhD." Indeed, according to the report, "women have to have a PhD to make as much as men with a BA." Blogger Kay Steiger calls this "the most depressing pay gap statistic."