Bri Alys, LLC

There have been lots of talk about equal pay for men and women over the past few months. Back in 2012, the White House even commissioned an Equal Pay App Challenge – “inviting software developers to use publicly available data and resources to create applications that provide greater access to pay data organized by gender, race, and ethnicity; provide interactive tools for early career coaching or online mentoring; or provide data to help inform pay negotiations. ” (Aequitas , OES Data Explorer)

But what about equal pay in tech? Is there a gap? If so, is it smaller or larger than other fields? Via research from Harvard University, The New York Times says, “in the tech sector, the pay gap between women and men is one of the smallest.” The study analyzed different fields, from car makers to publishers. Why is this?

A key reason women in tech fare better in terms of salary is that tech jobs tend to offer more flexibility in terms of where and when people work — the most important element in eliminating the pay gap, according to Ms. Goldin’s research. Compared with jobs in business, health and law, people who work in technology and many science jobs have far less pressure to be around at particular times and have face-to-face discussions with colleagues and clients. Writing code at a computer can be done at odd hours and from home.

If there was ever a reason to pursue #STEM, this research definitely adds to the list! The article goes on to stat that, “As a result, women with tech degrees who have young children are less likely to leave their jobs than women with degrees in other areas.”