Gender Gap in the Computer Field: Women's Paychecks Still Lag Men's?

The gender gap in compensation remains striking, according to "Computerworld’s" 20th annual Salary Survey. If not corrected, the pay disparity between male and female IT workers could cause women to leave the field in droves, says Gartner Inc. analyst Diane Morello, an IT career expert.





What was the gap in wages? Across the board, total IT compensation averaged $91,464 for men and $80,781 for women. Those figures are similar to those from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported that in 2005, women’s usual median weekly earnings were 81% of men’s.





Why is this important to both men and women? If these stereotypes aren’t eliminated, Morello cautions that 40% of women will leave the IT workforce by 2012. And if that happens, she says, suddenly “your IT skills crisis is 50% worse than you think.”





Why are companies paying IT women professionals less when there's a growing shortage of IT workers? Just because they can get away with it?

Gender Gap in the Computer Field: Women's Paychecks Still Lag Men's?
I am a woman. I work in IT. I know it happens. It pisses me off. If I ever find out and get proof it's near me, I'll explode. Not even speaking what kind of "rewards" this sector gives women that are not paid on one's bank account. Just look at some of you guys responding.





They can get away with it, because nobody in my country knows what exactly his/her coworker is making. I demand complete openness about that in this sector. That won't improve anything, but I bet it'll take less years than 2012. And don't tell me you have no insight if someone works for the same company 5 years, same function, same hours, etc. You can pretty much take a guess if someone is 'better' or 'knows more' than you - providing you are honest about it. Admitting someone is better at something, is something I'd rather attribute for women to have the honesty to themselves than men. You can also guess you should not be making the salary of function x, role y if your function includes roles y AND z.





@happy_bullet: Where's your home address? I want to come by and "talk".





@paul_C: That's because the time efficiency you win is by letting the women in your department take care of the shitty jobs and play secretary for you boys. Not with me :P
Reply:There was recently an article on yahoo discussing gender gap pay issues. The main issue they were studying was that women rarely asked for more pay/bonuses/promotions in recognition of their work. Men were more likely to be agressive in that nature.





So yes, companies can just get away with it. Why pay someone more if they don't ask for more and are willing to stay for the company and work.





Ultimately, male or female, if you don't like your salary. Ask for more (be prepared to list your accomplishments). If you don't receive more, find another job if you truly believe you are worth more.
Reply:I'm almost afraid to challenge this here - typically when you don't agree with the crowd ion YA you get 'thumbed.' Please give me a serious read first.





When I hear these reports I wonder about the amount of time each person has spent in the work force. i don't see in this article or others I have seen whether they have tried ton make adjustments for time-in-service (and the effect of service breaks).





America never has paid people equally for the same job - even among men there is often a 20% disparity for the same job. A guy who advanced quickly to mid-mgt will make less than a guy who took 5-6 yrs longer to get there - because most companies opay for time in service more than for the job itself. So 5-6 yrs different time in service is about 20% pay discrepancy.





I agree with the principal of equal pay for equal work - but if two people are doing parallel jobs in a company and one person has 20 yrs and the other has 15 yrs, nobody expects them to get equal pay, do they?





I just would like to see these studies' data analysed deeper than the media soundbyte 'average vs average'. Ok, you can attack now.
Reply:Its because no matter how much schooling women have, they are forever having to be shown the new ways of time-saving, effective techniques. They simply aren't problem-solvers. They are more 'by-the-book' when it comes to processes.


They are conscientious and thorough, but not innovative, which requires taking risks.
Reply:Are the numbers broken down in such a way as to account for things like education and years of experience? Most women come up short on the salary scale due to having taken years off from full-time employment for maternal duties.
Reply:let's back the truck up....it's a survey, not cold hard facts from the irs, ok. second, as said before, as genome mapping, women lack the "driving" gene %26amp; are the worst drivers. this leads them to getting late to work everyday. hope this helps


X-)
Reply:Are they comparing for hours worked?





EDIT: Ok, I read the article, and I can't sort out if they compared hours worked or not. However, they were referring to the highest level positions, so I would assume they're on salary and not hourly. That IS a problem, then.





My mom is in computer science, and she really had to fight her way to the top. Several companies she interviewed at in the early 80's were still saying, "We don't hire women". UGH! She quickly chose to turn to consulting in response, and ended up with much better pay. As her good reputation spread, desperate companies were able to "look past" the extra X chromosome and hired her on projects anyways. We ladies apparently still have a long way to go, which is disappointing to me.





EDIT: I should note that she works with the local junior high school in a summer school project to get girls interested in math and science, and they are clearly just as innovative and bright as the boys. Perhaps there are less women, statistically, that have an aptitude for these things, but there are still MANY who do.