Economic opportunity for women (Pittsburgh, York: how much, neighborhoods, buy)

[Aqua Teen Carl]

I don't see much of a pay gap (if any) in my field when it comes to men vs. women either. I have had the same experience as sealie where females are more likely to be project managers (and therefore get paid more than the people below them), however in my experience QA and web design are always 80% male or more.

I will also say that if you are female and you do work in any step of the software development life cycle employers will throw themselves at you to get a female on board. I know it's not PC or blah blah blah but being female will definitely get you a leg up in the hiring process in a primarily male tech field.

But with that being said, the same ol' Pittsburghers problem applies for both genders: low pay and less than ideal working conditions.

[metalforever]

"So do they pay females less here?"
We werent supposed to talk salary with other interns, but the male interns (we shared cubes) were making significantly more than me for doing the same jobs or arguably easier ones.

So, in general no. Sometimes...yes. There weren't other factors at work such as class level in college.

I also found that an internship I did in the san francisco area.. I was told by my boss not to discuss salary with the other employees because he "gave me a deal". I found out later that I was the lowest paid. Not happy. However I did a second internship in the san francisco area and they were fair with pay as far as I know.

[Buckeye Burgher]

Seriously, WHO is going to go and make an arbitrary decision that "you're a female, so I'm paying you less." ?????

NOBODY!

It's STUPID and POINTLESS. And would subject you to the full legal weight of the US Government.

Business pays what they have to in order to retain competent and talented employees. Regardless of gender.

These surveys are just looking to stir up trouble.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Burgher

Seriously, WHO is going to go and make an arbitrary decision that "you're a female, so I'm paying you less." ?????

NOBODY!

It's STUPID and POINTLESS. And would subject you to the full legal weight of the US Government.

Business pays what they have to in order to retain competent and talented employees. Regardless of gender.

These surveys are just looking to stir up trouble.

I think it's far more subtle than that. And not just Pittsburgh-related, either.

Why does someone with a BS in nursing make so much less than someone with a BS in engineering? Both are technical, scientific-type fields with lots of responsibility. Engineers tend to move up the pay ladder a lot faster, and a lot farther, too.

Just my rant for the day.

[sealie]

Offering less to women because you don't think they'll negotiate as hard is not unheard of. It would not, either, subject you to the full legal weight of the US government. I'm not even sure what you mean by that sentence.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Burgher

Seriously, WHO is going to go and make an arbitrary decision that "you're a female, so I'm paying you less." ?????

NOBODY!

It's STUPID and POINTLESS. And would subject you to the full legal weight of the US Government.

Business pays what they have to in order to retain competent and talented employees. Regardless of gender.

These surveys are just looking to stir up trouble.

I think this happens everywhere, but the disparity is much greater in pittsburgh. The low salaries in pittsburgh are problematic. It is harder to attract and retain talent. It isnt with just technology, but most fields in the region

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by zman63

I think this happens everywhere, but the disparity is much greater in pittsburgh. The low salaries in pittsburgh are problematic. It is harder to attract and retain talent. It isnt with just technology, but most fields in the region

I think the pay disparity is more likely driven by a training disparity and an early career opportunity disparity than it is driven by anything related to specific pay scales or salary negotiation for specific roles.

At my company, my boss and her boss are both female. I would venture to say that they both make substantially more than I do. Within our team, females are generally compensated more highly than males at the same level, and this is based on ability and merit. Those women just happen to be better at their jobs than the guys. There are a couple of guys that are well paid, too.

I think you'll be seeing more of what I describe as time goes on and the boomers age out, being replaced by younger generations. There will likely always be some fields dominated by men (oil drilling, for example), just as there are other fields dominated by women (elementary teaching, for one). When comparing geographies, one would need to adjust for these imbalances before drawing any conclusions specific to equal pay for equal work. Right now all we are comparing are likely unequal positions, experience, etc, and purposefully so to generate alarmist headlines.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

I think the pay disparity is more likely driven by a training disparity and an early career opportunity disparity than it is driven by anything related to specific pay scales or salary negotiation for specific roles.

At my company, my boss and her boss are both female. I would venture to say that they both make substantially more than I do. Within our team, females are generally compensated more highly than males at the same level, and this is based on ability and merit. Those women just happen to be better at their jobs than the guys. There are a couple of guys that are well paid, too.

I think you'll be seeing more of what I describe as time goes on and the boomers age out, being replaced by younger generations. There will likely always be some fields dominated by men (oil drilling, for example), just as there are other fields dominated by women (elementary teaching, for one). When comparing geographies, one would need to adjust for these imbalances before drawing any conclusions specific to equal pay for equal work. Right now all we are comparing are likely unequal positions, experience, etc, and purposefully so to generate alarmist headlines.

You make a point, but in the end people follow the money. Women get paid less than men here, but the overall wages for both men and women in Pittsburgh are lower than the national average.

If pittsburgh doesn't pay well then people are not going to stay here long term or come here at all for work. People want to feel as if they are getting compensated fairly. It doesn't matter how many positive articles, graphs or feel good stories are posted. If you have a job offer in pittsburgh for 50K and the same job in cleveland for 60K which do you think most people will take? Especially with both are nearly the same in cost of living. This region needs to pay more to be competitive.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by zman63

You make a point, but in the end people follow the money. Women get paid less than men here, but the overall wages for both men and women in Pittsburgh are lower than the national average.

If pittsburgh doesn't pay well then people are not going to stay here long term or come here at all for work. People want to feel as if they are getting compensated fairly. It doesn't matter how many positive articles, graphs or feel good stories are posted. If you have a job offer in pittsburgh for 50K and the same job in cleveland for 60K which do you think most people will take? Especially with both are nearly the same in cost of living. This region needs to pay more to be competitive.

I don't disagree that on average, Pittsburgh companies need to pay more. This is not the same as saying Pittsburgh companies need to pay women more, and does nothing to address gender inequalities in compensation. You're bringing a separate topic in to your own thread. There have been plenty of other threads addressing the overall compensation concerns in Pittsburgh.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

I think the pay disparity is more likely driven by a training disparity and an early career opportunity disparity than it is driven by anything related to specific pay scales or salary negotiation for specific roles.

At my company, my boss and her boss are both female. I would venture to say that they both make substantially more than I do. Within our team, females are generally compensated more highly than males at the same level, and this is based on ability and merit. Those women just happen to be better at their jobs than the guys. There are a couple of guys that are well paid, too.

I think you'll be seeing more of what I describe as time goes on and the boomers age out, being replaced by younger generations. There will likely always be some fields dominated by men (oil drilling, for example), just as there are other fields dominated by women (elementary teaching, for one). When comparing geographies, one would need to adjust for these imbalances before drawing any conclusions specific to equal pay for equal work. Right now all we are comparing are likely unequal positions, experience, etc, and purposefully so to generate alarmist headlines.

So which of these requires more education/training?