IT salary increases modest; gender gap widens
Annual survey shows managers saw best salary increases in 2007
Salaries for IT pros only edged up in 2007 from 2006, and the gender gap widened to the point where women in IT are now making 12% less on average than male counterparts, according to the Dice.com annual technology salary report released Tuesday
2007 increases in specific job categories fared better, particularly for those in management positions. MIS managers saw a 7.8% increase in salary, bringing their average pay to about $89,000 in 2007. Project managers experienced an increase of about 5% -- which landed workers in those positions in the $100,000 and above club. Contractors experienced gains of 3.7%, which resulted in about $93,000 in salary.
Overall, more than half of the 19,000 tech professionals surveyed said they were satisfied with their salaries in a market that boasted just a 2.1% unemployment rate.
"Technology workers remain among the highest paid employees, especially those with management experience and hard-to-find skills," says Scot Melland, CEO of Dice Holdings, the parent company of Dice.com, a career site for technology and engineering professionals.
But the survey did reveal that gender continues to play a role in salary levels. Women in high-tech positions saw the salaries of their male counterparts increase by 2.4% last year while their salaries remained flat. Women in 2007 made about $67,500, while men earned more than $76,500. Dice.com reports that the gender gap is most severe for women IT pros with more experience.
"Lower skilled positions such as technical support and systems administrators had a smaller gender gap. Women with 1to 5 years of experience saw the smallest gender gap (approximately 2.3%) while women with more than 15 years of experience had the largest gap (11.3%); hence, women age 40-49 also saw the largest gender gap (16.4%)," the report reads.
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Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:04 am