A new study from Glassdoor, the online job information firm, shows that female programmers are making far less than their male counterparts, when compared to other fields with pay inequities. The study showed a gap of 28.3 percent, or an average of 72 cents for every dollar earned.
As a whole, the tech industry is actually above the U.S. average in equal pay, according to Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, the author of the study.
"Women in tech, on average, earn about 94 cents for every dollar men earn," he told NBC News.
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"Each occupation differs for various reasons, but most tech jobs still remain male-dominated roles," he said. "In terms of computer programmer, it is an advanced and older tech role."
The study, entitled "Demystifying the Gender Pay Gap," found that "men earn more than women on average in every country we examined, both before and after adding statistical controls for personal characteristics, job title, company, [and] industry."
The report, which was based on 534,000 employee salaries that were shared anonymously, found that this was the largest pay gap, even when adjusted for experience, education, position, location, and industry. According to Chamberlain, "In general, we find the largest gender pay gaps in fields heavily dominated by men, and smaller pay gaps in fields where there is greater gender balance or where women make up a majority of workers."
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The study itself was conducted to dispel the idea that there was no gender pay gap.
"We found that perceptions of the gender pay gap do not match reality among employees. In fact, 7 in 10 people across multiple countries believe men and women at their company are paid equally for equal work," Chamberlain said.
According to Chamberlain, this is why the study itself is important. "When companies and employees talk about their salaries and share their salaries, we know that it's good for business overall, leading to fairer pay practices, increased productivity and other benefits."
