Pay gaps aren’t over, especially in Tech.
By: Riley Duignan
Yes, what you are thinking is correct; you did learn about the Equal Pay Act of 1963 in your US History class. No, it wasn’t a dream. Sadly, as important a historical landmark as this was for the United States, it didn’t fix our problem, a sexist pay gap. Pay gaps aren’t as “over” as you thought they were; they still stalk women persistently, especially in fields of profession like tech.
As of 2025, for every $1 a man earns in tech, a woman earns 82-84 cents. Let’s put this into perspective:
On average, most salaried workers get a biweekly pay, which is around 2 weeks out of a month. If a woman in tech has a salary of $99,000, the amount she gets paid on one of her pay weeks is $4,125, and for a full month, she would be paid $8,250. But, if you give the same circumstances to a man who works in tech, who has an average salary of $114,000, he would get paid $4,750 for just one of his pay weeks, and for one month total, he would get $9,500.
For just one singular week of pay, their salary differs by $625, and for a month of pay, that’s a $1,250 difference. This is a 13% pay gap. This pay gap is just for the average worker; pay gaps between men and women vary more depending on various factors. Women Tech Network quotes, “Women in tech earn approximately 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. This gap varies significantly depending on factors such as job role, seniority, and geographical location.”
In fact, some women experience what’s called “occupational segregation,” which is a purposeful restriction or uneven job distribution based on a person’s gender, race, or demographic. Many women experience it and are not given the same job opportunities as men, which also impacts the amount of money women in tech can make. Men in tech are more likely to score a higher-paying occupational job like a senior or executive role, while women are often kept at lower occupational jobs, therefore limiting the extent of their pay.
Not only does statistical evidence prove this as an active issue, but many women’s experiences have shown it to be common. It’s important we acknowledge and actively call out discriminatory acts in professional and social settings.
sources
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/occupational-segregation-in-america/
https://www.dice.com/hiring/recruitment/theres-still-a-15-gender-pay-gap-in-tech-heres-what-you-can-do-about-it#:~:text=While%20the%20average%20annual%20salary,an%20average%20disparity%20of%20%2415%2C000.
https://www.womentech.net/blog/gender-pay-gap-in-tech-sector-comparative-statistical-insights-and-implications
https://coderslink.com/employers/blog/addressing-the-gender-pay-gap-in-tech-insights-trends/