By Steven Musil
Using data from 4,600 workers in Australia, the only country that collects information about requested raises, the study ( PDF ) found that men got raises 20 percent of the time they asked, versus 16 percent for women who work the same number of hours.
“No evidence” was found to support the long-held belief that the gender pay gap results from women not being assertive in workplace negotiations, according to the research collected by the Cass Business School in London, the University of Warwick and the University of Wisconsin. In 2015, women working full time earned 79 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 21 percent, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research .
The pay gap is one of many diversity issues confronting companies in the tech industry. Silicon Valley has faced tough questions about the treatment of women and minorities, and the industry continues to struggle with recruitment, retention and promotion. For instance, Google said in June that in 2015 it had made only slow progress in hiring more women, blacks and Latinos. Last month, a tech industry recruiting firm reported that women have a better chance of being hired through blind interviews , meaning potential biases have been factored out.