It's possible that the women in English lit are taking a comparatively smaller cut in salary, but there aren't that many English lit jobs; far fewer than in the

It's possible that the women in English lit are taking a comparatively smaller cut in salary, but there aren't that many English lit jobs; far fewer than in the sciences. The competition for jobs is much greater, making the probability of finding a job even worse than in science. While the "men prefer prestige to money" theory has some merit, the "women prefer security to money" is better established.