Technologists Share Perception of Race and Gender Inequality in Dice Report

The second annual Equality in Tech Report, released by tech career marketplace Dice, illustrates that, from the perspective of many technologists, inequality and discrimination remain major issues within their work environments. The report is based on data from Dice annual survey of more than 7,000 technology professionals across the United States and is accessible via direct link (no contact information or login required).

In the 2022 edition of the report, perception of racial discrimination occurring in tech increased slightly over the prior year for Black technologist respondents (57%, up from 55%) followed by 35% of Hispanic/Latino(a) respondents, 31% of White respondents, 29% of Asian/Pacific Islander and 25% of Asian Indian respondents, all relatively flat from 2020. Hiring (27%) and lack of leadership opportunities (27%) were again common causes of perceived discrimination, along with promotion opportunities (26%) and salary and benefit inequities (24%).

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Perception of gender inequality remains high among technologists identifying as women, with nearly six in 10 stating that they believe gender inequality occurs in the tech industry on a frequent or very frequent basis, nearly double the rate of technologists who identify as men (32%).

“Once again this year, technologists working across organizations within and outside of the tech industry are telling us that we have a lot of work to do when it comes to racial and gender inequality and discrimination. We need to listen,” said Art Zeile, CEO of Dice. “As employees, allies, company leaders, builders and creators, and ultimately, human beings, we have the ability to make decisions and take actions that can lead to a systemic impact over time. We hope this data can help shine a light on these critical issues and provide us with another guidepost on the road to positive change.”

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Equality in Tech Report – Key Highlights

The report is presented in two separate sections on race and gender. For the purposes of this release, the highlights outlined represent data from both sections.

1) No Movement on Perception of Wage Inequality: The wage gap remains an issue for racial and gender groups. Overall, 48% of technologists feel they are not fairly compensated compared to others in the same occupation with their same skill set. That number grows to more than half when viewed by responses from specific racial groups, with the exception of White technologists (45%).

2) Career Satisfaction Outpaces Job Satisfaction: Satisfaction with careers improved slightly year-over-year, tightening the disparity between racial groups.

• Career versus current job satisfaction by race/ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino(a): 69% were satisfied with their career vs. 52% who were satisfied with their current job; White: 69% career vs. 55% job; Asian/Pacific Islander: 64% career vs. 48% job; Black: 62% career vs. 51% job; Asian Indian: 59% career vs. 48% job.
• Technologists who identify as women still lag technologists who identify as men in satisfaction with both their career (63% of women are satisfied vs. 69% of men) and current job (50% of women are satisfied vs. 55% of men).
• Satisfaction with managers remains high among racial and gender groups. 64% of White respondents reported satisfaction with their managers, followed by 60% of Black respondents, 59% of Hispanic/Latino(a) respondents, 55% of Asian Indian respondents and 52% of Asian/Pacific Islander respondents. Additionally, 60% of those identifying as women and 62% of those that identify as men stated satisfaction with their managers, Dice which could be one positive to take through the lens of progress.

3) Underrepresented Groups More Likely to Change Employers: Three in ten technologists are still considering changing employers in the next year. Seventy percent of technologists who identify as women indicated they are considering changing employers in the next year for better compensation (in line with the reasons for changing employers indicated by men and all racial groups surveyed) and remote work at a higher rate (34%) than any other group except Hispanic/Latino(a) respondents (38%).

This year’s report underscores the importance of offering remote and flexible work schedules to women and Hispanic/Latino(a) technologists that could help improve career/job satisfaction and ease burnout.

4) DEI Commitments, Reputation and Tangible Progress Matter More Than Ever: The importance of an organization’s reputation regarding DEI went up year-over-year for all groups, as did the importance of their company’s commitment to DEI and resulting programs and progress. Less than half of technologists surveyed have been impressed with action to date in their current companies. This gap signals how much work is left to be done.

“Diverse teams have been proven to be a driver of success for organizations of all sizes and types – they galvanize innovation, enhance problem solving and, ultimately, generate revenue. Building cultures and workforces that are diverse, inclusive and equal is not just the right thing to do; it’s an organizational imperative,” said Michelle Marian, Dice CMO. “We need every underrepresented group to be provided the same opportunities, paid comparable salaries and offered the same benefits for a number of reasons, but at the most basic level, they need to feel valued, included and engaged.”

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