How do technologists feel about efforts to up gender equality in tech?

Women in tech are adept at building their own tables and finding their own support when they don’t feel welcome elsewhere. But as tech companies pledge to reduce gender discrimination and increase diversity in the workplace, is the industry as a whole getting better?

Per one national survey of technologists, it’s a mixed bag.

Dice recently released its 2022 Equality in Tech Report, which found there has been little change in sentiments around gender discrimination for women in the tech industry compared to last year. The report, which is based on a survey of about 7,000 users of the firm’s hiring platform, showed six in 10 women technologists say “gender inequality occurs in the industry on a frequent or very frequent basis.” That’s nearly double the rate of men who responded.

“The data makes it clear that the tech industry still has lots of work to do when it comes to reducing discrimination, closing wage gaps, and increasing technologists’ satisfaction with their careers and jobs,” Dice said.

This point is furthered when looking at statistics about compensation and overall career satisfaction: Around 54% of women surveyed said they’d “witnessed salary-based gender discrimination” — again, more than double the rate of men who said the same (25%). And there are far more women technologists dissatisfied with monetary compensation in their current roles compared to men.

(Note: While a nationwide wage gap persists across industries, women do outearn men in a handful of metros, per Pew Research Center data. Check out our story on where, and what it means.)

The prevalence of gender discrimination can have a detrimental impact on a technologist’s career, from a lack of opportunities for promotions to getting underpaid. All hope should not be lost, though: The percentages of technologists who are “impressed with their organization’s efforts” to make workplace more diverse did increase over the last year. A functioning and non-performative DEI policy can help prospective and current employees feel more satisfied, happier and secure in their roles, in turn putting them in a better position to do their best work.

Dice emphasizes that there is still much work to do in the years ahead for reducing gender discrimination in companies across the tech industry.

“Standardizing hiring and devoting more attention to the career progression of technologists who identify as women is just the start; executives must ensure that everything from salaries to projects to management opportunities are all executed with gender equity in mind,” Dice said.

Read the full report