A new report on the gender wage gap between men and women has found the U.S. tech sector low-balls its female workers, offering them salaries worth 8 percent less than those offered to men.
Data collected by tech recruitment platform Hired found that, based on median salary offers, women in the U.S. tech sector were paid 8 percent less than male counterparts. In the U.K., the gap was 9 percent, equivalent to £5,000 ($6,214) a year in salary terms, while in Canada the gap was 7 percent and 5 percent in Australia.
Hired analyzed more than 10,000 offers made to approximately 3,000 candidates. The company hopes the information will help to close the gender pay gap and encourage debate.
"We want to be part of the solution by sharing much-needed insight for both women and the companies that employ them," the company said on its website.
"Our hope is that by sharing data of this kind, we'll bring attention to this issue, encourage companies to investigate their compensation policies and empower women to ask for their market worth."
The report also found that the wage gap tended to be largest in mid-sized companies. Firms with between 201-1000 employees had a wage gap of 17 percent.
In terms of job position, women working in tech sales were offered roles with a median salary of 5 percent less than male colleagues, while the gap for software engineering roles was 9 percent.
There are many socioeconomic reasons for the gender wage gap, but two particular reasons stand out, according to Jessica Kirkpatrick, Insights Manager at Hired who analysed information for the report.
"Women were undervaluing themselves when it came to compensation; equally, they were then receiving offers which were even lower than they had requested; both of which are contributing to the £5,000 difference we currently see in the tech industry today," she told CNBC via email.
Kirkpatrick also suggested ways in which the industry can tackle the wage gap.
"Companies need to ensure they are compensating new hires based on the market rate for a given position, which can be found through organisations such as PayScale, as opposed to basing their offer on a candidate's previous and possibly biased salary," she said.
"Secondly, organisations need to create a transparent promotion and compensation philosophy internally. By creating a program for these things and sticking to it, organisations can ensure they are not just rewarding employees that are more vocal or better at negotiating."