Almost half a century since the Equal Pay Act was passed in the UK, it seems there is still a long way to go until Britain solves the gender pay gap.
A new study by Hired, commissioned to mark the UK’s Equal Pay Day on 9th November, found that UK women are paid an average of 13.9% less than their male counterparts and while the pay gap is lower in the technology sector, it definitely still exists.
The data revealed that the median salary of women working in tech is 9% less than the men they work alongside – equivalent to £5,000 a year in terms of salary.
When comparing the UK to other global tech hubs, there was more bad news with the UK leading the list. The US came in second with women earning 8% less than male counterparts, while Australia had the lowest pay gap at 5%, followed by Canada at 7%.
The data in Hired’s report was pulled from an analysis of more than 10,000 offers across approximately 3,000 candidates and 750 companies on Hired’s UK platform.
“The fact that a £5,000 pay gap exists in the tech sector is unacceptable. We’re far behind the US, Australia and Canada in terms of equal pay and that shows that there’s a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed,” said Marta Krupinska, Co-Founder and GM of Azimo.
“Our tech sector is a world-leader because of its creativity and innovation – and women are a vital part of this. Research has proven that gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to perform above the industry average, so it’s crucial that UK tech companies take responsibility and eliminate any pay gaps, otherwise the future of our sector is at risk.”
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It was clear from the data that technical roles saw the largest gender pay gap, with the issue highlighted when looking at software engineering. In this sector, women are offered 9% less than their male colleagues, the equivalent of nearly five weeks’ wages.
Looking at software engineering salaries, entry-level (<2 years) men outearn their female counterparts by 7%, increasing to 10% for men and women with between 2-6 years of experience, and ultimately reaching a staggering 31% for individuals with more than six years’ experience. This, in turn, has an impact on the salaries that women request. Women with less than six years of experience ask for roughly the same salary as their male counterparts; however, as they reach six or more years of experience, they ask for 18% less.
An important take-away from the report was that when male and female candidates in the UK ask for the same salary, the wage gap almost disappears. Therefore, the report suggests that it is vital that women who know their worth in the interview and job searching process can command a salary on par with men.
Businesses should also wake-up to the fact that a diverse workforce is better for business, with Tom Castley, VP EMEA of Xactly, saying: “Hired’s report shows that the median salary of women in the tech sector is 9% lower than the men they work alongside – the equivalent of £5,000 per year.
“In sales roles, this gap stands at 5%. This is a serious business problem for our sector. Businesses failing to suitably reward their staff, regardless of gender, will ultimately fail to gain the most from their employees and will be limited in their success. Eradicating the gender pay gap should be a priority for every UK business. To tackle this, the way we pay employees must fundamentally evolve with the digital age.”
