Do Black Tech Professionals Get Paid Less
If you thought that Black employees are paid less then their white counter parts for the same position in the tech industry, then you would be depressingly right. According to a study done by job site firm Hire.com, black tech professionals were offered $10,000.00 less on average then white tech professionals for similar jobs in 2019. The year prior, their 2018 study showed that the average pay disparity was slightly higher at $11,000.00. So while there is progress seemingly being made, it’s certainly not at an impressive pace. Hispanic candidates did get offered $3000.00 less which was up from being offered $7000.00 less in 2018.
While Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives aren’t necessarily working, there are several other factors at play that must be considered. The same Hire.com study showed that Black and Hispanic tech professionals when asked their preferred salary for their role, it is $9K and $4K less, respectively then what white candidates prefer. So, while Black and Hispanic tech professionals get offered less money, they also tend to demand less money for similar positions.
It’s not all gloomy when you consider that tech industry salaries are booming and Austin, TX is leading the way. Perhaps people are happy making large paychecks compared to other industries and the social economic disparities don’t phase them. Here are a few key takeaways from the 2020 report:
- The US saw an average tech salary of $146K and Global average of $130K
- Austin and Toronto saw the largest salary increases at 10%
- SF / Bay Area topped the charts of highest pay in tech with an average of $155K, a 7% increase from 2018
- The healthcare sector has the highest Tech salaries, demanding an average of $151K in the US
If you adjust for the cost of living, a $137,000 average tech salary in Austin would equal to $224,000 in the Bay Area. Considering some of the other benefits Large tech companies are offering to employees to ensure retention and talent acquisition, this isn’t a bad industry to be in. So perhaps Black tech professionals see the underlying benefits outweighing the 9K pay gap. Maybe, it’s women who have the same struggle as they get paid less then all their male counterparts in respective races. Or even white males outlining the fact that they get paid slightly less then Asian tech professionals. There is a lot of improvements to be made, but if the 2019 numbers hold true, we are slowly going in the right direction.
