Salary Survey Extra is a series of periodic dispatches that give added insight into the findings of our most recent Salary Survey. These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

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‍Wednesday (March 8) was International Women’s Day. Women have been underrepresented in IT workplaces and professions for decades, but quite a few individuals and organizations have been working to foster change in that regard. In honor of the pioneering professionals of 2023, here’s a look exclusively at the women who responded to our most recent Salary Survey.

Here’s what the salary picture looks like for women who responded to the Salary Survey:

All U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $96,960
Median Annual Salary: $94,920
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 10.2 percent
Very Satisfied: 29.7 percent
Satisfied: 41.5 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 15.5 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 3.1 percent

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $59,480
Median Annual Salary: $48,480
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 5.2 percent
Very Satisfied: 13.4 percent
Satisfied: 39.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 33.8 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 8.3 percent

Women accounted for roughly 19 percent of all participants in the 2023 Salary Survey. The largest single body of women in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (72 percent of those surveyed), but we did hear from female certified IT professionals in 67 other countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Based on our survey data, it would seem that the worldwide population of IT-certified women skews young. There are only 5.2 percent of respondents younger than 25 (all between the ages of 19 and 24), but roughly 74 percent of respondents are either between the ages 25 and 34 (37.6 percent) or between the ages of 35 and 44 (36.3 percent). That leaves roughly 20 percent of respondents either between the ages of 45 and 54 (14.1 percent), between the ages of 55 and 64, (5.9 percent), or between the ages of 65 and 74 (0.9 percent).

Roughly 90 percent of women who responded to the survey have an educational background that includes time spent at a college or university. The highest level of education completed by most female certified IT professionals is either a bachelor’s degree (40.3 percent of those surveyed), master’s degree (33.5 percent), associate’s degree (8.4 percent), professional degree (3.4 percent), or doctorate (7.4 percent). Most of the remaining survey respondents either exited the realm of formal education after completing high school (1.9 percent of those surveyed) or completed some level of post-high school technical training (4.3 percent), with a tiny sliver who are currently in school (0.8 percent).

A solid 69 percent of women who responded to the survey are employed full-time, with 12.3 percent holding part-time jobs, and 11.9 percent presently out of work. That leaves 2.3 percent who are students, and 4.5 percent who are on sabbatical. Among those who have full-time jobs, most have either a standard 40-hour work week (37.9 percent of respondents) or put in between 41 and 50 hours per week (27 percent). The outliers are the 5.3 percent of those surveyed who put in more than 50 hours per week, the 19.5 percent who work between 31 and 39 hours per week, the 7 percent whose full-time schedule consists of between 20 and 30 hours per week, and the 3.3 percent who put in fewer than 20 hours per week.

When we ran these numbers last year, 45 percent of female certified IT professionals were spending most of those hours at a traditional workplace. That's where we are again this year, with only 23 percent of female survey respondents spending their entire work schedule at home, working from home either more than 40 hours per week (13 percent of respondents) or 40 hours per week (10.6 percent). Everyone else is working from home either between 31 and 39 hours per week (7.9 percent of respondents), between 21 and 30 hours per week (12.1 percent), between 10 and 20 hours per week (24.5 percent), or fewer than 10 hours per week (31.9 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, the largest single group of women who participated in the survey are employed at the senior manager level (23.3 percent of respondents). The rest, in descending order, are either managers (22.9 percent of those surveyed), senior specialists (19.1 percent), rank-and-file employees (11 percent), specialists (9 percent), executives (8.4 percent), or directors (6.3 percent).

A notable 41.5 percent of female certified IT professionals who responded to the survey are relatively new to IT, having worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for between 3 and 5 years. The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (26 percent of respondents), between 6 and 8 years (15.9 percent), between 9 and 10 years (4.9 percent), or for more than a decade (11.7 percent).

Finally, here’s the view of women on key questions from the survey about how certification impacts job performance:

At my current job I use skills learned or enhanced through certification:
Several times a day: 24.5 percent
Several times a week: 43.1 percent
Several times a month: 22 percent
Occasionally: 7.8 percent
Rarely: 2.6 percent

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 32 percent
Agree: 41.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 19 percent
Disagree: 5 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.4 percent

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 26.8 percent
Agree: 43.3 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.5 percent
Disagree: 5.9 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.5 percent

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 27 percent
Agree: 37.9 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 23.7 percent
Disagree: 8.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.1 percent

PAST DEEP FOCUS FEATURES ON WOMEN

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

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