Dive Brief:
- A new study from Dice found that in the IT sector, men and women with comparable backgrounds generally receive equal pay, though men tend to earn large bonuses.
- Dice surveyed 16,000 tech professionals and found there is no wage gap between men and women when looking at equal levels of education, number of years of experience and job titles.
- But, according to government data, women make up just 31% of the tech workforce.
Dive Insight:
The study found 38% of men received a bonus in 2015, compared to 34% for women. The average bonus for men was $10,420, while the average for women was $8,899. In addition to lower bonuses, the study also found women generally had less overall compensation satisfaction.
Many tech companies are still struggling to increase gender diversity, and the gender gap widens among company management and senior leadership.
Bob Melk, president of Dice, said in an interview with eWEEK, that although an IT gender gap still exists, the survey is also a sign that things are beginning to change when it comes to gender diversity in IT.
"Tech has been the place to work, relative to other industries and professions and companies recognize they can’t attract the best talent if they’re only fishing from half of the population,” he said. “That message has had time to sink in, and the industry appears to be attracting and hiring a more diverse workforce. There is nothing inherently that exists in tech careers that should hold women back."
