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Most human resource professionals are women, but in 2007, 37 of the 50 highest-paid HR executives were men, according to a survey by Equilar, a California-based executive compensation research firm.

 

The data contrast sharply with the gender ratio among HR professionals nationwide. About 70% of the country's 238,000 HR managers and 731,000 HR specialists are women, according to 2007 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

The median weekly pay for male HR managers in 2007 was $1,581 – about 47% more than female managers took home. Among rank-and-file employees, men earned $1,037 per week, about 28% more than their female counterparts, the Wall Street Journal reports.

 

One explanation: any companies hire executives from other business areas to lead human resources instead of choosing a director from within the HR department, and men generally outnumber women at the executive level.

 

A separate survey conducted by Salary.com found that only four of the 30 highest paid HR executives were women in 2007. In 2006 and 2005, five and four women were among the 30 top earners, respectively.

 

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