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To: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
Release Data on Gender Pay Ratios
Since 1998, Microsoft has been a leader in the tech industry by collecting and sharing data on the diversity and inclusivity of its global workforce. Now it's time to do more. I'm calling on Microsoft to disclose female-to-male pay ratios inside the company.
Why is this important?
CEO Nadella wrote employees this week: "Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work."
As a woman working in the tech industry, equal pay for equal work is important to me too. But from my experience in San Francisco, in many cases in our industry -- as in others -- women are still paid less than our male colleagues.
Microsoft's latest publicly available data on workforce diversity shows that men occupy 82.7% of all leadership positions inside the company. With such lopsided representation in leadership, one wonders how Microsoft holds up on pay equity.
Do women at Microsoft earn the same as their male counterparts? Are employees actually earning equal pay for equal work?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2013 shows that women in the tech industry still earn substantially less than their male counterparts. It's everyone's job to close the gender pay gap -- including Microsoft -- but we can't do it without the data.
Microsoft is in a position to lead the industry on this issue. Releasing diversity numbers is not enough -- gender equity includes your paycheck. Employees, shareholders and the public have a right to know whether Microsoft pays women and men equal pay for equal work. Let's disclose the pay ratios across the company -- and if there is a pay discrepancy, let's get to work fixing it!
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