A recent report titled “Canada’s Got Tech Talent” released by The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University revealed that, on average, women working in tech occupations in Canada in 2021 earned $20,000 per year less than men. However, the most startling statistic of the report was that the pay gap between genders had actually increased by $12,800 between 2016 and 2021. This was predominantly due to men in senior, non-leadership positions (shown as the 60th-80th percentile in the chart below) receiving wage increases while the women’s pay-rates remained stagnant.
Source: Canada’s Got Tech Talent, The Dais
How can the tech ecosystem work toward closing the gender pay gap? The Canadian Women’s Foundation and UK organization Women in Tech have outlined several key steps to achieve this goal. Perhaps the most important step is to have active female role models in the industry: only 22% of tech workers in Canada are women (per the Canada’s Got Tech Talent report), with the majority of senior positions held by men. Attracting and/or offering more advancement opportunities that support women (and people with dual-career families) into senior tech roles will provide the role models younger women need to see. In addition, work-integrated learning programs, such as Technology Alberta’s FIRST Jobs Program, provide the opportunity for young female professionals to enter the tech company workforce and acquire permanent employment. Technology Alberta’s work with Small-to-Medium-Sized Technology Companies has experienced the interest in a diverse workforce. These companies selected out of a talent pool of approximately 37% female – a pool of their independently selected FIRST Jobs hires that was 48% female.
Another key practice to close the gender pay gap is to offer greater flexibility in when and how employees work – which supports both men and women care-givers. As recently discussed, there is a significant talent shortage in the tech industry, and making this effort will also serve to expand the available talent pool.
Additionally, regions with pay transparency have experienced progress in narrowing gender pay gaps. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Iceland have enacted legislation that require employers to disclose their average pay for men and women, with Iceland’s legislation making it illegal to not address pay gaps revealed through independent audits. Canada still lacks such legislation, but tech companies can be proactive in addressing this situation within their own organizations.
Ultimately, the topic of the gender pay gap (both in the tech industry and in the overall workforce) remains an obstacle towards obtaining the benefits of a fully participating and diverse workforce . By taking action in inclusive HR attraction, retention, and advancement practices – tech companies can make powerful contributions in closing the gap, while also addressing the tech talent shortage by expanding the available talent pool, and obtaining the strategic advantages that diverse perspectives and approaches can offer.
