IT salary increases modest; gender gap widens

Salaries for IT pros only edged up in 2007 from 2006, and the gender gap widened to the point where women in IT are now making 12% less on average than male counterparts, according to the Dice.com annual technology salary report released Tuesday.

IT professionals on average earned just 1.7% more in 2007 than in 2006, with full-timers averaging about $72,000. Salaries rose 5.2% in 2006 from 2005. (Read Network World’s own 2007 salary survey here.)

2007 increases in specific job categories fared better, particularly for those in management positions. MIS managers saw a 7.8% increase in salary, bringing their average pay to about $89,000 in 2007. Project managers experienced an increase of about 5% -- which landed workers in those positions in the $100,000 and above club. Contractors experienced gains of 3.7%, which resulted in about $93,000 in salary.

Overall, more than half of the 19,000 tech professionals surveyed said they were satisfied with their salaries in a market that boasted just a 2.1% unemployment rate.

"Technology workers remain among the highest paid employees, especially those with management experience and hard-to-find skills," says Scot Melland, CEO of Dice Holdings, the parent company of Dice.com, a career site for technology and engineering professionals.

But the survey did reveal that gender continues to play a role in salary levels. Women in high-tech positions saw the salaries of their male counterparts increase by 2.4% last year while their salaries remained flat. Women in 2007 made about $67,500, while men earned more than $76,500. Dice.com reports that the gender gap is most severe for women IT pros with more experience.

"Lower skilled positions such as technical support and systems administrators had a smaller gender gap. Women with 1to 5 years of experience saw the smallest gender gap (approximately 2.3%) while women with more than 15 years of experience had the largest gap (11.3%); hence, women age 40-49 also saw the largest gender gap (16.4%)," the report reads.

On a positive note, Dice.com reports the gender gap in pay is smaller among female consultants at about 8.9%. And project management positions, which now pay six figures on average, pay women more equitably when compared to men.

"There is some good news for female IT professionals -- project managers now make $100,436, which marks the first time that females in this position have averaged more than $100,000. This position also compares relatively favorably to male counterparts, who earn $101,569," Dice.com reports.

Geographic location, not surprisingly, also plays a big role in salary levels, according to the survey. For instance, locations in Silicon Valley, Boston and Baltimore/Washington, D.C. saw higher salary increases in 2007 than others. Technology professionals in Silicon Valley earn the highest salaries, according to Dice.com's survey, bringing in $93,876 on average -- which represents a 3.95% increase over pay in 2006. Boston ranks as the second highest pay area, with IT pros making about $83,465 in 2007, a 3.93% increase over the previous year. Baltimore/D.C.-area high tech workers made $81,750 on average, followed by Los Angeles professionals who earned just more than $81,000, and New York rounded out the top five locations with IT pros taking home about $80,770 on average in 2007.