Even though cash is a bigger motivator for men than for women, they’re getting equal pay for equal positions, education, and experience says tech job search firm Dice.
No salary gap exists between women and men in tech, says job search firm Dice, looking at its annual survey of 16,000 tech professionals, as long as you are comparing people with equal experience, education, and job titles.
That, of course, is a big if. And previous data from Dice found about a $10,000 pay gap between men and women if not controlled for those factors.
Dice’s president, Bob Melk, in a letter to the media, indicated that, while generally the men (54 percent) and women (51 percent) surveyed reported being satisfied with their compensation, cash just doesn’t mean as much to women as it does to men. Melk indicated that employeers are offering women alternatives to higher salaries, including flexible work hours and the ability to telecommute. (I have to say, wouldn’t it be nice if these options were in addition to, instead of a replacement for, higher salaries?) Dice’s complete analysis of motivators is in the figure at right.
Dice’s salary survey was administered online with 16,301 employed technology professionals responding; the respondents included 3379 women. Cookies and other methods were used to make sure there were no duplicate responses.
Updated 3 March to include number of women surveyed and other details about methodology.
Tekla S. Perry is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., she's been covering the people, companies, and technology that make Silicon Valley a special place for more than 40 years. An IEEE member, she holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University.