Half say they suffer discrimination, according to an Intellect survey

Half of UK women working in the IT industry feel they are underpaid compared to their male colleagues, according to a recent survey.

UK hi-tech trade body Intellect polled 433 women IT staff in the UK and discovered that 49 percent of respondents thought they were not being awarded the compensation of men in similar positions.

Part of the problem may lie in pay structures that disguise job roles, leaving the way open for unfair treatment. Sixty-two percent of respondents said their companies did not have a transparent pay structure. Eighty percent believe equal-pay audits should be compulsory

Gillian Arnold, chair of Intellect’s Women In IT forum, said that the perception of a gap between male and female pay was a concern even if it is unclear whether or not that perception is valid. “If a woman believes that her salary is less than that of her peers for the same work and experience, then she will be prompted to look elsewhere,” she added.

Arnold called for employers to make salaries and benefits clear to avoid bad publicity and legal conflicts.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said, "Women may suspect that they are earning less than their male colleagues, but few will know how to go about challenging sexist pay structures at work - especially if they are employed in a workplace where there is no union presence. Tackling an employer over pay and asking them to carry out a pay audit requires a lot of guts and an employer can simply refuse to comply.”

Barber called on the government to enforce statutory pay audits.

Stephanie Liston, chairman of the Women In Telecoms & Technology and a non-executive director of Ofcom, agreed that pay transparency would be a positive move at many companies but said she was “highly skeptical” of the figures.

“In large enterprises I would expect the figure [expressing the belief that women were underpaid compared to men in IT for equivalent roles] to be less than 10 percent,” Liston added.

Liston said that female workers needed to be more confident and self-promoting. “I don’t think men are as reluctant to ask for a pay rise,” she said. “It isn’t an evil thing [on behalf of employers], it’s more that women are very good at juggling families, tasks and careers. They get on with things and expect to be recognised for doing a good job.”

Liston also noted that family commitments often meant women did not apply for managerial posts. She encouraged UK employers to be more “family friendly” to attract female talent.