A techies.com Study of More Than 100,000 Tech Professionals Finds Women Average 92 Cents for Every Dollar Male Peers Make.

Business Editors & Technology Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2001

Near-equal Earnings for Tech Men and Women With Up to Five Years

Experience - But Wage Gap Widens as Experience Levels Rise

Women are likely to earn as much as men during the first five years of employment in technology professions, a new techies.com study reveals.

Overall, female techies earned an average 92 cents for every dollar their male counterparts made, according to the study. That's significantly better than the national average: In full-time positions in all U.S. professions, women earn less than 75 percent of what men earn, U.S. Census Bureau figures show.

The techies.com study analyzed salary data from 106,133 technology professionals among the more than 640,000 members of techies.com, a national network of local online tech career resources.

"The virtual pay parity among less-experienced workers in the techies.com study may dispel some of the myths about women in technology," said Dan Frawley, CEO and President of techies.com. "The tremendous demand for technology professionals is proving to be a great equalizer for women in the workplace."

The techies.com study compared salary data on 87,075 men and 19,058 women, from entry-level to executive technology positions and across 39 major U.S. job markets. In many technology jobs, women with up to five years of experience are essentially at par with their male counterparts, the study found. But women with ten or more years' experience earned 9 percent less, on average, than male workers with equivalent experience and skills.

"There's an evolution in attitudes, as younger hiring managers are finding fewer reasons to differentiate between male and female employees," said Shuman Lee, techies.com's Director of Analytics.

The techies.com study also found:

-- Of the 106,133 technology professionals studied, women averaged $5,071 less
in yearly pay than men.

-- Job demand isn't always a guarantee of salary parity. In fact, the
high-demand data management field scored lowest of all job families, with women
making only 84 percent of male earnings, at an average salary difference of
$12,500.

-- Women technologists in large U.S. cities, such as New York and San Francisco
are less likely to encounter the gender gap than their counterparts in smaller
markets.

-- Earnings gaps were smallest in the mountain states--markets such as Denver
and Salt Lake City--and on the West Coast, where women earned 98 and 96 percent
of male salaries, respectively. North and central U.S. markets averaged pay
that was 95 percent of male earnings.

-- Surprisingly, the tech-rich Northwest boasted a significant earnings gap:
There, female technologists earn only 86 percent of what their male
counterparts earn. In South-central states such as Texas, women make 89 percent
of men's salary; and in states in the South, 90 percent of men's salary.

More results from this survey can be found at http://twincities.techies.com/Common/Content/01-01/Articles/Html /1career_womenintech.html.

About techies.com

techies.com is an exchange for technology professionals, and for businesses that want to recruit, market to, and interact with them. Ranked last year as the No. 1 technology career Web site by PCWEEK, the company allows technology professionals who become its members to maximize their career options, develop productive relationships with potential employers, and obtain relevant content on technology-related issues. techies.com also offers large and small companies the ability to plan for, acquire, and retain technology professionals.

The company currently generates most of its revenues from the sale of technology workforce solutions to its more than 2,200 client companies. techies.com is also a co-founder of TechiesDay, a nationwide initiative to address our nation's increasing demand for a qualified technology workforce. For more information about TechiesDay, visit www.techiesday.org.