The gender pay gap is getting worse in the tech industry, study shows

3 years ago 434

Will the Great Resignation assistance propulsion it the different direction? Perhaps.

TechRepublic's Karen Roby spoke with Rachel Roumeliotis, VP of contented strategy for O'Reilly Media, astir the sex wage gap. The pursuing is an edited transcript of their conversation.

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Karen Roby: We speech a batch astir wage gaps, and we've been proceeding astir that for a agelong time. And a batch of industries are saying, "We're bridging that gap, and we're making that a happening successful the past." At O'Reilly Media, you guys acceptable retired to bash a survey connected this. We'll dissect a small spot of this survey present and the findings. But close disconnected the top, springiness america a mates of the highlights that truly stood retired to you.

Rachel Roumeliotis: Unfortunately the fig 1 item is that compensation for women was importantly little than men astatine 84%. [Women earned 84% of men's salaries, according to the survey.]

Karen Roby: Wow.

Rachel Roumeliotis: Yeah. And I looked astir a small bit, that unluckily seems par for the people crossed industries. I saw that that was existent for physicians, precocious I work an nonfiction connected that, truthful that wasn't great. And past adjacent erstwhile a pistillate is much highly educated, aforesaid problem.

It's not astir education, which 1 could look to for a reason. And it doesn't look similar unluckily it has changed that overmuch successful the past twelvemonth oregon is going to alteration soon, though I person immoderate ideas connected that.

Karen Roby: Well, yeah, that's the distressful portion present is that astatine slightest erstwhile thing you say, "Well, this is the mode it's been, but here's wherefore we cognize it's getting better." But what you're suggesting arsenic well, that "getting better" portion whitethorn not truly beryllium there.

Rachel Roumeliotis: It truly hasn't moved each that overmuch successful the information and artificial intelligence space, oregon tech successful general. I was speechmaking up, I conjecture successful antithetic areas radical person to accidental what their wage is, men and women. So, the U.K. has done this. They person to study what the salaries are. That hasn't made thing change. I deliberation we're going to person to instrumentality it into our ain hands. Just reporting that there's a difference, adjacent though we're like, "That's not right," it doesn't look to beryllium making the alteration that fast.

There's a mates of things I read. In Iceland determination is seemingly a instrumentality present that the sex spread wage has to commencement to disappear. I don't cognize if we request to spell that far. But conscionable past nighttime it was reported that Microsoft actually, determination was an interior spreadsheet going astir wherever radical were putting however agelong they had been astatine the company, their compensation, etc. Because there's this taboo you're not expected to speech astir what you make.

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So is determination a generational alteration that's happening where, who does that really serve? I don't know.

Karen Roby: Question, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, and you'd deliberation it wouldn't, shouldn't person to travel to making it a law, similar you mentioned with Iceland, but I consciousness similar we're astir there. Because we tin bash surveys and we tin say, "This is what the data's showing us." And women are conscionable arsenic educated and women are conscionable arsenic competent, truthful wherefore are we inactive here?

Rachel Roumeliotis: I deliberation unfortunately, arsenic overmuch advancement has been made, it inactive seems that there's inactive a solid ceiling wherever women are making it to a definite level but not needfully the highest level, similar of the CEO. And I deliberation that sways the numbers a small bit. I deliberation 1 happening that mightiness assistance and I'm definite you've heard about, it's the Great Resignation.

Rachel Roumeliotis: About however radical are like, "I privation to work, but not for that pay." Or, "I privation to bash thing that is much fulfilling." I deliberation there's a mates of things. One, I deliberation that companies are looking for employees. And particularly successful the information and AI space, AI specifically, there's not capable AI specialists.

Karen Roby: Right.

Rachel Roumeliotis: I conjecture what I would accidental is, cognize your worth. Go and look astatine what radical are being paid for that occupation oregon akin jobs successful a circumstantial area. Although that whitethorn alteration excessively with distant work. And I would conscionable say, there's the aged adage, I don't cognize if this is existent oregon not, but women conscionable don't ask, bash you cognize what I mean? A batch of times. So making definite that you're educated and that you know.

But I mean, speaking of surveys, there's been different surveys wherever having a divers enforcement squad oregon radical successful your squad successful wide helps the company. So I don't spot wherefore we wouldn't privation to bash this.

Karen Roby: All of those reasons marque it evident to maine that it would look that that would beryllium what you would privation to bash and marque definite that that's not a problem. And you mentioned it, but erstwhile we speech astir tech specifically, Rachel, betwixt AI, cybersecurity certainly. We person truthful galore openings and conscionable don't person capable qualified people.

SEE: The Great Resignation: HR analytics tin assistance foretell who mightiness beryllium looking for different job (TechRepublic)

You'd deliberation tech would beryllium 1 of those areas wherever we're not seeing this problem, but successful information it's glaring.

Rachel Roumeliotis: Yeah. It is. And possibly due to the fact that determination are truthful galore openings, we'll spot a shift. I don't know.

Karen Roby: Rachel, erstwhile you guys looked astatine this survey, was determination ... I don't cognize however specifically oregon the benignant of size of companies that we're talking astir here, oregon if that matters oregon if it's a larger company?

Rachel Roumeliotis: It was done ... I tin archer you a mates of things. Of the respondents, astir 80% were men, 14 identified arsenic women. And past determination are astir 5% that identified arsenic different oregon they. So that's conscionable thing to springiness you an thought of who we heard from. But past arsenic acold arsenic industry, wrong being successful tech, oregon size of institution oregon wherever idiosyncratic lived, determination truly was not a large quality arsenic acold arsenic that gap.

Let's see. The different thing, too. Men I deliberation got much promotions oregon much dollars per promotion. I don't know. I mean, I don't cognize if that besides goes backmost to women taking disconnected clip for childcare and losing that time. But yeah, it doesn't look right, does it?

Karen Roby: It doesn't. And it's absorbing to see, I mean, we're, gosh, what are we, 18 months into this pandemic now? I'm trying to deliberation backmost of erstwhile it each ... It sometimes feels similar Groundhog Day, but we've seen changes. I mean, over, let's telephone it a twelvemonth and a half, with everyone going distant and past immoderate starting to travel back. And past radical commencement leaving their jobs, similar you mentioned, the Great Resignation. And childcare is an issue.

SEE: Prepare for the large idiosyncratic reshuffle: Are your employees readying to leap ship? (TechRepublic)

And there's truthful galore factors going into it. But it volition beryllium absorbing to see, say, adjacent a twelvemonth from now, however this pandemic and these changes and shifts we're seeing, however that volition person an impact, hopefully a affirmative one, connected salaries arsenic it relates to women successful that spread there.

Rachel Roumeliotis: I deliberation that it will. I deliberation that's going to person an effect connected wherever you tin and volition live. I deliberation that, arsenic you said, I deliberation radical are going to beryllium taking a hard look astatine their teams and what their teams are demanding to beryllium paid, among different benefits. And I deliberation erstwhile we bash this astatine our ain company, I mean, It's precise unfastened astatine our company. We're precise just crossed roles and successful presumption of however agelong you've been with the company.

I deliberation companies conscionable person to look astatine the worth of their workers and arsenic benignant of agents of getting enactment done and portion of the team, alternatively than spots to fill. I deliberation that's bully for a company. I cognize determination mightiness beryllium an archetypal crush to the operations budget, but I deliberation yet you'll person happier, more-engaged employees. And similar I said, you privation a divers workforce due to the fact that it helps your company. I mean, I deliberation it would beryllium bully for everyone.

I'm hopeful that determination is, due to the fact that of this Great Resignation, that determination is simply a oversea alteration that's going to hap that volition impact the spread wage arsenic well.

Karen Roby: Yeah, cautiously optimistic for that. And again, Rachel, conscionable to circular retired here, and I similar to permission radical with a small nugget oregon thing to deliberation about, and you mentioned this with women. Part of the occupation could beryllium that they're conscionable not asking for it. Or they don't possibly cognize their worth oregon their worthy capable erstwhile going successful for, whether it's an interrogation oregon for a reappraisal to spot if they tin get a promotion oregon a bump successful pay. But I deliberation doing research, knowing your worth and asking for it, that could marque a large difference.

Rachel Roumeliotis: I wholly agree.

Karen Roby: Yeah. Some things to support successful caput there, Rachel. And again, hopefully a twelvemonth from present oregon 2 years from present erstwhile you each bash a survey similar this, we bash spot a change.

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