Gender Disparities in STEM

In recent years women have begun to make their way into the fields of STEM; the reasons stem from the vast improvement of gender inequality across all workplaces. Unfortunately, a gender pay gap and underrepresentation still exist despite efforts to create more opportunities for women in STEM. These disparities are the results of both direct and indirect gender biases. We used data collected from a survey of 64,461 software developers and programmers from around the world to investigate the ways gender influences the pay and representation of women in the STEM field directly and indirectly. The specific factors we chose to explore focus on pay, gender representation, qualifications, and satisfaction. Utilizing those factors, we exposed the truth behind women in STEM.

Average Yearly Pay by Gender Based on Company Size in STEM

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When surveying data that compared average salary by gender to company size, it was apparent that women were making less for each category. There were three company size deviations that contradicted this, but the consensus concluded that women made less on average regardless of company size.

Yearly STEM Salaries Around the World

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We selected the top five countries with the most participants in the study. A majority of the selected countries are praised for their equality amongst their people, which was interesting considering the data demonstrated that women on average made less in STEM than men. There was one outlier, India, which was unexpected considering India has the greatest amount of gender discrimination compared to the other four countries.

Representaion of Women in STEM Jobs

The most striking feature of this graph is the vast amount of white space. The lack of purple illustrates the stark contrast in representation between the genders. Women in every position comprised a minor percentage of the employees, which indicated that men comprised a very high percentage. The greatest women-represented position was marketing, where women were only 11.85% of the employees. The fact that the lowest representation for men was still close to 90% illustrates the lack of gender diversity in the workplace.

Average Yearly Pay by Gender and Job Position in STEM

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The data for our average yearly pay by gender and job position went against our previous consensus that women are paid less in STEM. In over half of these job positions the women were either paid equally or more than men. Although it appeared that women were on average paid more, average pay did not account for representation in that position. Visible in the graph for representation, women’s representation by each job position was significantly less than men’s. So yes, women and men in the senior executive position had an average different of $75,000 with women on the higher end, but women only accounted for less than 4.09% of those employees. The representation percentage shifts our perspective to recognize that the reason women earn higher salaries is because there are so few.

Years of Coding and Job Position

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Across the board, women had less coding experience than men. This is because of coding's reputation as a male-dominated skill. The importance of coding being renowned as a male skill lies behind a universal experience for women. Every woman you talk to will likely be able to tell you a story of how their work was not taken seriously by men or they felt inadequate amongst male peers despite being just as qualified. That is the universal experience that has made it so difficult for women to enter the fields of STEM. Evidently, it is a primary contributor to the difference in coding experience genders.

Pay by Gender, Role, and Experience in the U.S.

Three factors are compared: gender, role, and experience. In a number of roles, the lines for women's pay in these regressions are generally lower than the regressions for men. In some cases, this is especially the case for individuals with fewer years of experience, compunding the effect of differing educational opportunities on women in STEM. These findings apply for both professional and overall experience.

On average, more women were “very satisfied” with their job than men were. The greater amount of satisfaction could suggest that women who hoped to enter the STEM field had to be more committed to their aspirations. The need for this commitment is caused by the lack of opportunity for women and other difficulties women face simply entering the field. Once overcoming those difficulties, that commitment would likely turn into satisfaction, which accounts for the great percentage of satisfied women.

Our overall findings suggest that gender disparities in STEM do exist, but they are not as clear-cut as one might expect. Women tended to make less than men regardless of company size. Even in countries known for their equality, women on average made less. Although women made more for specific job positions, they were severely underrepresented in those jobs. Entering the field was a challenge in itself. Despite the disadvantages women face in STEM, they were more satisfied with their work than men. These findings elucidate that the pay gap is real. We have discovered that change is as necessary now as it was fifty years ago. Fortunately, this problem has universally come to light and people are actively working to change the gender enviornment in STEM and other male-dominated fields.