Industry's gender pay gap widening

Report finds men earn average of $20,000 more than women in 2021, up from $7,200 in 2016

- TARA DESCHAMPS

The gender pay gap in Canada’s tech sector almost tripled between 2016 and 2021, amounting to the average salary of a woman in the industry being about $20,000 less than her male counterpart, according to a new report.

The report called “Canada’s Got Tech Talent” was released Thursday by researchers at the Dais, a public policy organization based at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Among the report’s key findings was data revealing the average female tech worker was making $71,400 in 2021 compared with $91,000 earned by their male counterpart. The numbers indicate the gender pay gap among tech workers has widened significantly since 2016, when men earned $7,200 more than women.

Viet Vu, the Dais’s acting director of policy and research, said the increase surprised him given the attention that has been paid to equity, diversity and inclusion in recent years.

While everything from pay associated with remote work to seniority can shape the gap, he said a “peculiar” trend also contributed to the figures.