Read the spreadsheet women in tech are sending each other to find out how much they're making compared to their male coworkers
- Lizzie Kardon, head of content and engagement for the tech company Pagely, crowdsourced a Google spreadsheet to show how much women make in tech - you can view it here.
- Her goal was to help women make more money, inspired by a New York Times piece from January.
- Women continue to make less money than men, research shows, and additional information inspires action.
- Women in tech can view and use Kardon's spreadsheet, regardless of if they share their salary.
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Can a crowdsourced Google spreadsheet help women in tech make more money?
Lizzie Kardon created one to find out.
Kardon, a working mom and head of content and engagement for the tech company Pagely, was inspired to start the project after reading a piece in the New York Times: "A[n] article came out a few weeks ago on women being more willing to share their salary information with each other, and I wondered how true that was and if I could replicate it within my own community," she explained. (Kardon's story was featured on NBC TODAY's "Behind the Headline" this morning.)
She could: In the three weeks since it launched, more than 500 women contributed to the spreadsheet (you can view it here). It spread through closed communities for women in tech and networking groups for working women and mothers, such as HeyMama (which is how I learned of it). Participants anonymously fill out a form to share their title, salary, location, and, optionally, benefits and years of experience. Data is self-submitted, and users depend on each other to share accurate information. The responses are then added to a view-only Google sheet.
Kardon's hope is that additional data around salary transparency will help women negotiate higher salaries and help correct the wage gap in the tech sector (Business Insider reporter Megan Morris recently tackled a similar issue in media and journalism).
Research shows that women continue to make less money than men - and that additional information inspires action. Consider Hired's 2019 "The State of Wage Inequality in the Workplace" report on the gender pay gap in tech, which found that men are offered more compensation for the same position at the same company 60% of the time, and that women ask for lower salaries than men 60% of the time. But that's not all: The same study shows that when women "learn of a pay gap," nearly one-third will look for a job at another company, while another 26% will discuss their pay with their manager and 4% will go to HR.
While research shows that salary transparency can help eliminate secrecy and even the playing field across sectors, some would argue the stakes are even higher for tech. According to Vox, "tech jobs are growing much faster than employment in general. They are the jobs of the future. Lower pay for women and people of color in this arena will therefore be more impactful than in areas that are stagnating."
Jen Naye Herrmann, currently a marketing consultant in Chicago, added to Kardon's spreadsheet for a brand manager role in Chicago. "I shared my salary information because information is powerful and we're stronger together," she shared with Business Insider. "The truth of it is most women operate with a 'go do' mentality. We're bright, successful people who have no problem rolling up our sleeves to do the work. Often times, that means we don't pause and ask 'the why' behind the salary, we just 'go do.' I believe we need to foster a strong culture of women who ask why, so I shared my information."
Women in tech can view and use Kardon's spreadsheet, regardless of if they share their salary. In other words, there are no prerequisites to view the data, increasing accessibility.
This was appealing to Colleen Williamson, an independent contractor who didn't add to the spreadsheet but used it to confirm her current rates are competitive. Similarly, Nyeesha Williams, owner of Serenity Oasis Center, said that she'd use the spreadsheet for market research and setting client fees.
Kardon advised that those interested in creating something for their own sector keep it anonymous - and just do it. "I took the plunge to be the first one to publicly share my own info and after that the data came pouring in," she shared. "No one ever wants to be 'the first one' to do something risky, so I did. What surprised me is how quickly people were willing to be the second, third, fourth, … 500th ..."
For me personally, this spreadsheet reminded me of the time, early in my career, when I accepted a job offer - only to learn several months later that my colleagues' base pay was $10,000 higher. I loved that job, but as it was a new role for me, in a new city and a new industry, I'd had no idea what competitive pay might've looked like. Certainly, if I'd had access to a massive spreadsheet of what was standard for that role in that area, I would've asked for more.