WASHINGTON - American women generally are paid less than men, but a new study adds a twist: That isn't the case among full-time female workers who have never married or had children and live alone.

The findings by the Employment Policy Foundation, a pro-employer think tank, found that these career women earn almost $1.02 for every dollar earned by men in the same situation.

That's dramatically different from the situation faced by working women as a group, who make an average of 73 cents for every dollar men earn, according to the National Committee on Pay Equity. The group estimates that women's annual pay for 2001 will catch up with men's on April 16 this year.

"One would suspect that women in that group, who do not have families, may be single and living alone because they are in a career they find very satisfying," said Vicky Lovell at the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington. "I think the implication in setting up a research project like this is that women who choose to get married and then choose to have children, then it's their problem."

Equal pay advocates say the report, which used data from the government's March 2001 Current Population Survey, has limited value because it involves a small segment of the workforce - about 4 percent.

But the study's author, economist Ron Bird, says the findings are important because they show that lower pay is a result of family choices rather than gender discrimination. Bird's theory is that employers are not responsible for the lower pay.

And if that theory holds up in lawsuits, it could shield employers from large awards.

Federal law makes employers liable only for back pay. A proposal in Congress, the Paycheck Fairness Act, would allow women to also recover punitive and compensatory damages.