A new study shows the gender pay gap in Canada's tech sector almost tripled between 2016 and 2021. A man walks though a downtown Toronto office building with other buildings reflected in a window in this June 11, 2019 photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
TORONTO – A new study shows the gender pay gap in Canada’s tech sector almost tripled between 2016 and 2021.
Researchers at The Dias, a public policy organization based at Toronto Metropolitan University, says the average woman tech worker was making $71,400 in 2021 compared with $91,000 earned by their male counterpart.
They say that gap has widened significantly since 2016, when men earned $7,200 more than women.
The gaps continued when researchers looked at the earnings of visible-minority tech workers, who made an average of $78,800 a year in Canada in 2021 compared with $93,000 for those not considered to be part of a visible minority group.
The average Indigenous tech worker was similarly found to make roughly $14,000 less than non-Indigenous counterparts making $86,800.
The research The Dias published is based on census data concluding Canadian tech workers earn $40,000 more per year than workers employed in other fields. However, those behind the study say Canadian tech workers still make 46 per cent less on average than Americans.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2024.
