Why women in tech are sharing their salaries in an open spreadsheet

Lizzie Kardon, the head of content and engagement at WebPress hosting company Pagely, has started a Google spreadsheet for women in tech to open up the channels for discussion around salary and pay for women and encourage transparency in order to tackle the gender pay gap in the industry.

Yes I only have 31 Twitter followers but I just started this doc today and hundreds of #womenintech have already submitted their salary info. We are stronger together! https://t.co/NXd5YdfjlW

— Lizzie Kardon (@LizzieKardon) January 12, 2020

Since it’s launch in early January, over 800 women have now shared their details on the spreadsheet. It allows women to put in their job title, salary, location and perks such as free meals, healthcare and fertility coverage.

And it makes for an interesting read. Salaries are wide and varied; from $45,000 for a marketing specialist all the way to $225,000 for a senior designer.

After calculating the entrants on the spreadsheet, Kardon said she discovered the average woman tech worker is being underpaid as much as $10,000 per year. 

“Women are stronger together, and willing to help each other,” Kardon told NBC’s Today show.  

Other similar initiatives have recently started up. 

Jessica Hooper, a business development manager and founder of Lighthouse Culture, a management consulting agency, joined Ladies Get Paid asthe lead ambassador and event producer. The development organisation for women encourages women to be transparent about how much they are making.

Talking money with @jolingkent on @3rdHourTODAY ????
Is sharing your salary taboo? https://t.co/W3xB6Lvks8

— Jess Hooper (@StuffJessLikes) February 5, 2020

She told the Today show: “Women set themselves back by not asking the questions around salary and not attempting to negotiate for better pay”. 

Co-founder and chief executive of digital financial advisor for women Ellevest , Sallie Krawcheck agrees that it’s important to remember to become comfortable with the ones who you trust. If you’re not talking about it, you’re not getting it.”

My full interview on the @TheDailyShow: Bulls, Beers, Bees and Bias https://t.co/W1s9fKlYMK

— Sallie Krawcheck (@SallieKrawcheck) February 3, 2019

“Women have been socialised from childhood that talking about childhood is not attractive,” she said.

“That somehow, we’re not deserving of the money, that somehow, asking for it can be pushy or aggressive.”

Companies are also starting to practice greater openness in their attempts to eliminate the gender gap.

In 2013, Buffer, a UK-born, US-based company that produces a tool for managing social media accounts began publishing employee’s salary online. The spreadsheet revealed that on average, male employees at Buffer were paid $100,868 each year, compared to a woman’s $97,500.

See all the top insights and data from one of the largest remote work reports here ⬇️
https://t.co/ksMGQOfdxp

— Buffer (@buffer) February 11, 2020

A study published in January 2019 from Harvard Business Review revealed that the gender pay gaps reduces when companies are required to disclose salaries openly.

Let’s hope that this trend continues it cycle across the tech world, proving that transparency can influence gender parity.

This article was first published by Women’s Agenda.

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