Did you know that there are nearly 1 million women in computing occupations in the United States today? Recently we gathered together some demographics on technical women and thought we’d share them with you. Read on for other interesting factoids.
Women currently hold more than 51% of all professional occupations in the U.S., and approximately 26% of the 3,816,000 computing-related occupations. (Department of Labor Current Population Survey, 2012)
In 1991, women held 37% of all computing-related occupations. (NCWIT, 2010)
Women comprise 34% of web developers; 23% of programmers; 37% of database administrators; 20% of software developers; and 15% of information security analysts. (Department of Labor Current Population Survey, 2012)
Women hold 19% of CIO positions at Fortune 250 companies (Boardroom Insiders, 2012)
Among the tech companies within the Fortune 100, only four have female CEOs. (Fortune, 2012)
Women hold 11% of executive technical roles at privately held, venture-backed companies. (Dow Jones VentureSource, 2012)
Women comprise 7% of tech company founders (Kauffman Foundation, 2010)
Successful startups have twice as many women in senior roles than unsuccessful companies. (Dow Jones VentureSource, 2012)
Startups led by women are more capital-efficient than the norm, with 12% higher revenues using 33% less capital. (Illuminate Ventures, 2010)
More than half (56%) of women in technology leave their employers at the mid-level point in their careers (10-20 years). Of the women who leave, 24% take a non-technical job in a different company; 22% become self-employed in a technical field; 20% take time out of the workforce; 17% take a government or non-profit technical job; 10% go to a startup company; and 7% take a non-technical job within the same company. (The Athena Factor via The Facts, 2010)
According to Payscale.com, 90% of software developers are men. Women and men developers have similar starting salaries though men have a higher upper range. (Payscale, 2013)
The average female senior software developer earns between $74,660 – $100,591 per year and has at least a bachelor’s degree. (Payscale.com, retrieved 2012)
The gender pay gap for computer programmers is smaller (women make 7% less than men) than it is for other professional occupations, including attorney (women make 13% less than men) and accountant (women make 24% less than men.) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011)
Just 3% of the U.S. computing workforce is African-American women, 4% is Asian women, and 1% is Latinas. (NCWIT By The Numbers, 2012)
The median age of women in computing and mathematical occupations is 42. (U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011, unpublished)
Of the approximately 903,000 women holding computing and mathematical occupations in the U.S, about a quarter million are between the ages of 25 and 34, and another quarter million are between the ages of 35 and 44. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011, unpublished)
Among women in computing occupations, 69% are white, 16% are African-American, 9% are Asian/Pacific Islander, and 6% are Latina. (NCWIT Scorecard, 2010)
About 79% of technical women have a partner who works fulltime, compared with 37% of technical men. (Anita Borg Institute)
Nearly 70% of partnered, mid-level technical women have partners who also work in technology, while only 33% of partnered men have partners who also work in technology. (Anita Borg Institute)