Wage Gap in the Video Game Industry

From Gamer Developer Magazine

Speaking of the gender wage gap, The Border House Blog recently shared some statistics found in Game Developer Magazine. Surprisingly the reported average salary for female programmers is a little over $4,000 than that of male programmers… because females only make up 4% of the population. Though the percentage of female animators is significantly higher at 16%, the average salary drops drastically with women making roughly $16,000 less than that of men – that’s much higher than the average $11,000 gender wage gap. The wage gap reaches a status quo in the game designer salaries. Female representation drops to 11%, but the wage gap more or less stays the same with a $14,000 difference.

From Game Developer Magazine

The statistics for game producers is a little interesting; women now represent 23% of the population but still get paid roughly $6,000 less than their male counterparts. The female representation in the audio producer field is similar to programmers, but wage gap is a monstrous $32,944! 

Now I can understand lack of female representation, with the video game industry being the boys club that it is, but what could possibly be a legitimate excuse for a 65% difference in wages? Are female producers just not as qualified? Are their responsibilities and job duties not vital to the company? Is it because they’re not applying for the higher paying positions or being overlooked for promotions? Or are they simply just not getting paid enough for the same work?

The Border House Blog continues to report various other jobs found in the game industry and reported average salaries coupled with it, but the issue of under-representation of females in the game industry and the huge gender wage gap is very apparent in the statistics listed above. Recently, there have been a lot of discussion about female representation in the tech industry as well as a huge push to get young girls interested in tech and science, but is it enough? If female representation in these fields increases, will their wages do the same?

For more information and statistics on the gaming industry, you can visit the Border House Blog or check out the latest issue of Game Developer Magazine

Equal Pay Day: Working An Additional Four Months to Break Even

When put into small numbers, like 77 cents to the dollar, the wage gap between women and men doesn't seem so bad, right? Wrong. Looking at the bigger picture, the gender wage gap is a big issue - an extra $11,000/year issue.

April 9th, 2013 marked the last day a woman needed to work in order to make the same wages as her male counterpart for 2012. Women make $11,000 less annually compared to men, in order to catch up to a man's 2012 salary, a woman would have had to continue working till April 9th, 2013. To sum it up, it takes women 16 months of work to earn the same amount a man would make in 12 months. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there for women of color.

The wage gap for women of color is significantly larger than that of white women. The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) reports that African American women make 64 cents to the dollar of a white man and Hispanic women only make a mere 55 cents to the dollar. There's no denying there's a direct correlation to race and gender regarding the wage gap. Sexuality plays a huge role as well, a household with a lesbian couple will earn significantly less than a household with a man. Since women are typically the primary caregivers, a household with no male presence and children to support is at a financial disadvantage.

For myself, a 20-something single Hispanic woman still attending college, the list of things I could do with an extra $11,000 would include - paying off most of my student loans, or paying most of the years rent, maybe buying car, or even invest in some stock. For single mothers, $11,000/year would mean a hell of a lot more.

An additional $11,000/year would mean a drastic change in quality of life for all women. Acts like the Paycheck Fairness Act, currently pending in congress, would protect employees from discrimination and offer wage negotiation training programs. Giving women the tools to protect themselves from wage discrimination and negotiate more effectively will help them to become more conscious of their worth.


More information and statistics on the repercussions of the gender wage gap can be found at National Women's Law Center

More on the Paycheck Fairness Act can be found at National Partnership for Women & Families