Tech Jobs Underpay Black Women and Minorities

Unless you’re a white man working in the tech industry you can forget getting top pay. Hired.com recently published a study indicating that two out of three women working in the technology industry are paid less than men. That’s an improvement over last year when 69 percent of women were paid less compared to 63 percent this year.

But black women appear to be the hardest hit by pay disparities. According to the study African-American women make only 79 cents for every dollar a white man made. Black men made only 88 cents for every dollar paid to white counterparts. This pay gap can cost African-American tech workers as much as $10,000 a year in salary.

Because of the intense interest in increasing diversity in the tech industry blacks are 50 percent more likely to get hired but they are likely to be offered less pay. The study revealed Latino candidates are 26 percent less likely to get hired than a white candidate and Asians are 45 percent less likely. However they are still paid more than blacks but less than white hires. For example Latinos received only $5,000 less that white hires while Asians averages $2,000 less than whites.

Courtesy USAToday

Hired’s study revealed an interesting situation. The average white software engineer in San Francisco and New York asked for $126,000 in annual salary and usually recieved an average offer of $125,000. But blacks seem to be asking for less salary and getting it. Blacks in the San Francisco bay area/Silicon Valley asked for $115,000 and in New York $113,000.

Why are black technology workers asking for less money? According to the report’s author, Jessica Kirkpatrick, blacks maybe asking for less because people base their salary expectations on what they are currently earning. According to Kirkpatrick blacks lower expectations are a reflection of past salary history and being denied raises and promotions.

This pay disparity is not going unnoticed. Google is currently under scrutinity because of accusations that it is underpaying women.  Google recently announced on Equal Pay Day that it had “closed the gender pay gap globally.” But testimony from a Department of Labor official in federal court stated that Google systematically  discriminated against women. The official went on to say that Google’s discriminatory practices were “extreme” even for the tech industry. Google has been under pressure from the federal government to produce pay data to ensure the company is in compliance with anti-discrimination laws. Google has failed to produce the information so far and called the government request a “fishing expedition.”