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 These posts contain previously unpublished Salary Survey data.

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Today (March 8) is 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 2019, 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: $96,320
Median Annual Salary: $90,560
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 10.2 percent
Very Satisfied: 19.4 percent
Satisfied: 40.8 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 27.7 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 1.9 percent‍

All Non-U.S. Respondents
Average Annual Salary: $47,090
Median Annual Salary: $36,880
How satisfied are you with your current salary?
Completely Satisfied: 3 percent
Very Satisfied: 12.7 percent
Satisfied: 33.3 percent
Not Very Satisfied: 37.2 percent
Not At All Satisfied: 13.8 percent

The largest single body of women in the survey is made up of U.S. residents (66.9 percent of those surveyed), but we did hear from female certified IT professionals in 35 other countries: Albania, Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Based on our survey data, it would seem that IT-certified women are fairly evenly spread across the typical range of ages for regularly employed workers. There's a relative absence of youth, with just 6.2 percent of those surveyed between the ages of 19 and 24, and no one checking in from the 18-or-younger demographic. At the opposite end of the spectrum, just 1.6 percent of those surveyed are between the ages of 65 and 74, and we didn't hear from anyone age 75 or older. The largest of the middle range groups is the 27.6 percent of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34, followed by those between the ages of 35 and 44 (23.1 percent of respondents), those between the ages of 45 and 54 (21.4 percent) and those between the ages of 55 and 64 (20.1 percent).

The highest level of education completed by most female certified IT professionals is either a master's degree (43.7 percent of those surveyed) or bachelor's degree (36.4 percent), with a further 1.6 percent having gone even higher up the ladder to complete either a doctorate (0.6 percent) or a professional degree such as a juris doctor (1 percent). Comparable numbers of women topped out either with an associate's degree (6.2 percent of those surveyed) or by completing some level of technical training after high school (6.2 percent). Out of the remaining 6 percent of respondents, 2.3 percent are currently in school, while 3.6 percent left the realm of formal education after obtaining a high school diploma.

Among all IT-certified women to participate in the survey, 92.8 percent are employed full-time, while 2.1 percent are currently out of work. The rest are either employed part-time (3.6 percent of respondents), currently in school (0.9 percent), or taking a sabbatical (0.6 percent). Among those women who have full-time jobs, a solid 42.9 percent have a standard 40-hour work week, while 38.6 percent put in between 41 and 50 hours per week. The outliers are the 8.4 percent of surveyed women who work more than 50 hours per week, and the fortunate few who have a work schedule of between 31 and 39 hours (8.8 percent of respondents) or between 20 and 30 hours (1.3 percent).

In terms of workplace standing, most female certified IT professionals are at the manager level or below, with 14.1 percent of respondents employed as managers while 32.3 percent are at the senior specialist level, 18.4 percent are specialists, and 22.6 percent are rank-and-file employees. There are relatively few women in upper management roles, with 6 percent of those surveyed working as senior managers, while 3.9 percent are directors, and 2.7 percent are at the executive level.

The largest single group of IT-certified women to participate in the survey are tech veterans: 33.2 percent have worked in a role that directly utilizes one or more of their certified skills for more than a decade. The rest have been plying their certified skills for either between zero years (1 to 11 months) and 2 years (21.1 percent of respondents), between 3 and 5 years (25 percent), between 6 and 8 years (12 percent), or between 9 and 10 years (8.7 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: 53 percent
Several times a week: 21.4 percent
Several times a month: 12.7 percent
Occasionally: 9.3 percent
Rarely: 3.6 percent‍

Since becoming certified, I feel there is greater demand for my skills.
Strongly agree: 33.7 percent
Agree: 38.6 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 20.8 percent
Disagree: 4.5 percent
Strongly Disagree: 2.4 percent‍

Becoming certified has increased my problem-solving skills.
Strongly agree: 25 percent
Agree: 36.8 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 21.7 percent
Disagree: 12.3 percent
Strongly Disagree: 4.2 percent‍

Becoming certified has increased my workplace productivity.
Strongly agree: 25.9 percent
Agree: 36.5 percent
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 22.3 percent
Disagree: 11.4 percent
Strongly Disagree: 3.9 percent

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