Salaries for female tech leaders ‘may be catching those of men’

The average salaries for female business leaders in the technology sector may have moved ahead of those of men for the first time, research claims.
Sheryl SandbergSheryl Sandberg
Sheryl Sandberg

Recruitment firm Odgers Berndtson claims a worldwide study it conducted across 1,000 searches for top roles in technology between now and 2015, shows that both the share of top commercial roles for the earnings for female tech leaders have doubled.

However the study, published in the same week that world marks International Women’s Day, also shows that significant challenges remain for women in many areas of technology, notably across specialist roles.

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At the end of last year, the Government-backed Hampton-Alexander review reported that the number of women on FTSE 100 boards has exceeded 30 per cent for the first time, but in smaller companies and executive roles there is still much to do. Its aim is to achieve a third of women on boards of all FTSE 350 companies by 2020.

Some industry functions and sectors, however, including technology, face particular challenges. Tech UK, a membership body representing the UK technology sector, has noted that overall only 17 per cent of the those working in technology roles are female. At the leadership level, numbers of women like Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, are lower still, recently estimated at around 9 per cent globally and 5 per cent in the UK

“We are delighted with the progress made over the past five years for women in top commercial roles with global technology companies,” said Mike Drew of Odgers Berndtson.

“We hope this is just the start of far greater diversity.”