Decoding What Women in Tech Want: Insights for Your Recruitment Strategy

It has been a wild ride for tech professionals over the last four years. Broad workplace changes have rolled through every industry regularly since the outbreak of COVID-19, impacting the daily routine, job security and mental wellbeing of tech professionals. Naturally, the resulting relationship between tech talent and their jobs is more complex than ever.

For Dice’s “Women in Tech Week” this year, we went back to the data collected for our annual reports, The Tech Salary Report and the Tech Sentiment Report, and dug deeper into the sentiments and compensation factors impacting people who identify as women in tech. When it comes to attracting and retaining talented women tech professionals, HR and talent teams need to understand what truly matters to them.

Pay Disparity Persists

According to data found in our survey for the Tech Salary Report, tech professionals who identify as men earn roughly $114,000 annually on average, whereas women earn roughly $99,000 on average — a $15,000 disparity. There is a lot at play behind that stat, most notably:

• Men tech professionals are more likely to be employed full time (86% of men vs. 80% of women employed).

• Men are more likely to be in their current role for a longer time (31% of men and over five years vs. 22% of women and over five years).

• Men more likely to have worked in the tech field for a longer time (80% of men and over five years vs. 66% of women and over five years).

From our perspective, all these nuances simply mean that the gap in pay between women and men tech professionals indicates a systemic problem that drives many disparities under the surface. Why aren’t women staying in their roles longer or building longevity in the tech field?

Women in Tech Love Remote Work Flexibility and Benefits

There has been some speculation that, especially for women, remote work has the potential to blur the line between work and life — in the direction of work. While every tech professional, or professional of any kind, working remotely should put time into evaluating their own line between work and life, we uncovered signs that when compared to men, women tend to take work-life balance more seriously. Most notably, just under half (46%) of our respondents who identify as women say their work-life balance has improved over the last year, compared to only 35% of the men surveyed.

Remote Work

Remote work flexibility is a critical factor for women evaluating potential employers. We found that 65% of women consider remote work opportunities, defined as having at least three days a week at home, “extremely important.”

Employer Benefits

Women in tech are also more likely to value employer benefits that support a healthy work-life balance. Of the benefits offered in the survey, women tech professionals care the most about wellness health benefits, remote scheduling and work-from-home stipends.

Employer Brand and Company Culture Matter to Women in Tech

The data suggests that women in tech place a more significant emphasis than other genders on an employer’s brand when evaluating opportunities. We noticed an interesting gender gap in tech professionals’ feelings toward employer brand traits: A larger percentage of women (14% compared to 11% of men) believe an improved work culture would significantly boost their happiness at work. Also, significantly more women tech professionals place a higher importance on an employer’s brand when considering a new job compared to men; 37% of women say an employer’s brand is “extremely important” compared to 22% of men.

Hire Women with Great Benefits, Retain Them with Great Pay

Do these findings indicate that women in tech will accept lower pay with an offer that includes great benefits and remote work? They might, but they won’t be satisfied with that arrangement for long. Alongside these prior findings about optimism and healthier work-life balance, we found that women are also more likely than men to be actively searching for a new role. In fact, 38% of women in tech are actively on the hunt. This presents a great opportunity for companies to attract high-caliber women in tech, but it also underscores the need to turn some attention toward retaining them.

One solid place to start is by supporting more salary transparency. Pay equity analysis, merit increases, transparent compensation practices and clear pathways for career growth within your organization are all great places to start elevating women and encouraging retention.

By understanding these key data points, you can tailor your recruitment strategy to attract and retain top female talent in the competitive tech landscape. Prioritizing remote work options, fostering a strong employer brand and company culture, promoting DEI initiatives and ensuring fair compensation will go a long way toward attracting the best and brightest women in tech.