CUPA-HR’s signature surveys collect data on composition and pay equity on all higher ed administrator, faculty, professional, and staff positions. To explore trends in composition and pay equity for custom comparison groups or specific positions, subscribe to DataOnDemand.
Staff positions are generally non-exempt and do not require a college degree. Examples of non-exempt staff in higher education include electricians, police officers, photographers, custodians, office assistants and food service workers. These interactive graphics show composition and pay equity by gender and race/ethnicity for higher education staff over time.
Composition of Staff by Gender and Race/Ethnicity
Key Findings: People of color represent one-third of all staff, which is the largest proportion of people of color in the higher ed workforce. This makes higher ed staff the only employee group that mirrors the representation of higher ed students by race/ethnicity. Notably, people of color are best represented in the lowest-paying positions on campus. When examined by job category, service and maintenance staff have the highest representation of people of color (44%), and skilled craft staff have the lowest representation of people of color (18%). Women make up 86% of office and clerical positions and only 4% of skilled craft positions. These patterns have been consistent since 2016-17, when CUPA-HR first started collecting this data.
Navigating the Chart: Click the labels in the legend to select or deselect specific data in the graphic. Use the drop-down menu to select a subset of staff positions. Slide the circle side-to-side in the bar to change the year or click the “Animate All Years” button to see how percentages change over time.
Median Pay Ratios for Staff by Gender and Race/Ethnicity
Key Findings: Overall, women’s pay ratios are at least somewhat lower than men’s pay ratios of the same race/ethnicity, a pattern that has persisted for staff since 2016-17. In addition, Black and Hispanic/Latino men’s pay is consistently lower than the pay of White men. Intersectional pay ratios for Black and Hispanic/Latina women are the lowest among all staff positions. Black women have been paid $0.93 or less for every dollar White men were paid since 2016-17. Even in sectors where people of color are well represented (e.g., service and maintenance), their pay is consistently lower than White men in those positions. Additionally, in office and clerical positions where women make up the majority of staff, women’s pay ratios are lower than men’s pay ratios of the same race/ethnicity (with the exception of White women).
Navigating the Chart: Use the drop-down menu to select a subset of staff positions. Slide the circle side-to-side in the bar to change the year or click the “Animate All Years” button to see how percentages change over time.
Methodology
Data were collected in CUPA-HR’s Staff in Higher Education Survey with an effective date of November 1 of each academic year. For these charts, the academic year is denoted with the last part of the year (e.g., 2025 reflects academic year 2024-25). Analyses include only non-profit institutions of higher education; each year of overall staff data includes data from at least 640 colleges and universities and at least 133,103 staff.
Median pay ratios control for position. Median salaries by race/ethnicity and sex for each staff position were obtained; then the median of those medians was calculated by race/ethnicity and sex. Finally, each group’s median salary was divided by the median salary of White men to calculate the pay ratio. This controls for the fact that women and people of color may be represented differently in specific positions that pay higher or lower salaries, and it means that the wage gaps present are not explained by the fact that women or people of color may have greater representation in lower-paying positions.
Additional Resources
For more information and data on higher education non-exempt staff, see our comprehensive report: The Non-Exempt Higher Education Staff Workforce: Trends in Composition, Size, and Pay Equity.
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