By Jenna Goudreau, Forbes Staff (Full Story)

“Although women cannot avoid the pay gap completely, they can make choices that enhance their earning potential,” write American Association of University Women (AAUW) researchers Christianne Corbett and Catherine Hill. “A critical first step is paying attention to the salaries associated with college majors and occupations and understanding the long-term financial implications of those decisions.”

Due to the continuing gender difference in pay, researchers at the Center for Education and the Workforce analyzed 171 undergraduate majors by how well they pay off for women. Perhaps not surprisingly, the top 10 best-paying college majors for women closely align with the most recent list of the best-paying jobs for women, with pharmacy reigning supreme. The list is also dominated by engineering and computer science majors, areas where men are highly concentrated.

No. 1: Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
Percentage of women: 42%
Women’s median earnings: $100,000
Men’s median earnings: $110,000

No. 2: Information Sciences
Percentage of women: 26%
Women’s median earnings: $75,000
Men’s median earnings: $65,000

No. 3: Chemical Engineering
Percentage of women: 23%
Women’s median earnings: $72,000
Men’s median earnings: $92,000

No. 4: Computer Science
Percentage of women: 22%
Women’s median earnings: $70,000
Men’s median earnings: $79,000

No. 5: Electrical Engineering
Percentage of women: 7%
Women’s median earnings: $70,000
Men’s median earnings: $86,000

No. 6: Mechanical Engineering
Percentage of women: 7%
Women’s median earnings: $70,000
Men’s median earnings: $80,000

No. 7: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Percentage of women: 17%
Women’s median earnings: $67,000
Men’s median earnings: $80,000

No. 8: Computer Engineering
Percentage of women: 14%
Women’s median earnings: $67,000
Men’s median earnings: $80,000

No. 9: Business Economics
Percentage of women: 30%
Women’s median earnings: $64,000
Men’s median earnings: $80,000

No. 10: Civil Engineering
Percentage of women: 13%
Women’s median earnings: $62,000
Men’s median earnings: $80,000