Why women in tech should move to Detroit
More women equals better pay. For proof, check out Detroit.
That’s one of the findings froma new study by SmartAsset, which analyzed Census Bureau data for insights about women in technology.
Overall, says the study, women who work in technology earn 75 percent of what men do. And nationally, the tech workforce is 75 percent male. But in cities with a higher proportion ofwomen in the tech community, women’s pay tends to be higher as a percentage of men’s.
“There is significant positive correlation (49 percent) between tech industry representation forwomen and pay equity in the 58 cities SmartAsset analyzed,” says the study. “While it is impossible to say what exactly causes this this relationship, it is clear that some cities have a better overall culture forwomen in technology.”
Exactly which cities, though, might surprise you. In this year’s survey, SmartAsset found that when it comes to pay, the best city forwomen in technology is far and away Detroit. Women working in Detroit’s tech sector actually get paid significantly more than men— 122.8 percent of men’s pay. Relative to other cities, Detroit’s tech sector has a lot of women, with 44.5 percent of all tech jobs in the city filled by women. Detroit also has extremely high growth in the tech sector, with three-year tech employment growth reaching 32 percent.
In the overall rankings, which include job growth, cost of living, and other factors, Washington, D.C., comes in first, followed by Kansas City and Detroit.
Women earn more than men in two other cities, aswell. In Kansas City and Indianapolis, women make 100.8 percent of what men do.
Last year, women in Kansas City were getting paid 106.6 percent of what men were, and women in Arlington, Texas were getting paid 107.4 percent of men’s salaries. Those were the highest-ranked cities.
Then there are the cities where statistically, women might dowell to rethink their choice of either career or geography. In terms of pay, Jacksonville, Fla., where women get paid 76.7 percent of men in tech, and Durham, N.C., where they get paid 76.9 percent, are theworst. In the overall rankings, Madison, Wis. and Portland, Ore. do theworst.
SmartAsset did not lump together the various Bay Area metros into one measurement. But San Francisco and Oakland, Calif. rank 19 and 20th on the overall list, respectively. In San Francisco, women in tech get paid 83.4 percent of what men do; in Oakland, 81.5 percent.
Hello, Motor City.