Baltimore rises to #2 in women-in-tech rankings

Baltimore moved up a spot to number 2 on a study of the best cities for women in tech.

The latest study from SmartAsset shows that the city’s position rose after two years in the third spot. The city has risen from number 12 in 2015, the first year of the study, said SmartAsset Director of Financial Education AJ Smith.

Drawing on U.S. Census Bureau data, the study looks at factors including the number of tech jobs filled by women, income and the gender pay gap. These numbers include:

• Tech jobs filled by women — 31.1 percent
• Income after housing costs — $58,383
• Gender pay gap — 93 percent

These stats still fall far short of equal footing with men, but Smith said they are well above the national averages. On gender pay gap, for instance, women nationally make an average of 84 percent of men. And when it comes to tech jobs, women nationally fill about 25 percent.

The study also factors in overall tech job growth, where Baltimore has seen a 28 percent rise, which is above the national average of 15 percent. On that metric, Baltimore ranks ninth out of 58 cities. It’s also improved from last year’s 86 percent.

When it comes to these particular metrics, Smith said Baltimore consistently ranks above the national average, and in the upper portion when compared with other cities. For instance, it’s sixth out of 58 in the number of tech jobs filled by women.

“One of the nice things about Baltimore, which isn’t always the case when you look at these studies, is Baltimore does rank well in each one of these categories,” Smith said.

Yet there’s still room to improve. Nearby D.C. remains number 1 overall, with a gender pay gap of 95 percent and 38.9 percent of tech jobs filled by women.

This editorial article is a part of Technical.ly's Women in Tech month.