Black Women's Equal Pay Day should be a call to action for leaders in tech.

You are probably aware of the fact that Black women in the U.S., on average, made just 63 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men in 2020. Let's be clear: the tech industry is not immune to pay disparities. According to a recent report from Hired, Black women in tech made 90 cents for every dollar a white man made in 2020. It's an improvement from 2019 — when it was 87 cents (and even bigger improvement from 2016, when it was 79 cents) — and it's certainly better than the national average, but it's unacceptable, nonetheless.

Black women continue to be locked out of the tech industry, and lack opportunities to access these high paying jobs. Only 3% of computing jobs are held by Black women.

This is not because of a lack of interest in computer science. The thousands of girls we serve each year — 50% of whom come from historically underrepresented backgrounds prove otherwise. It’s because women and girls are dropping out all along the pipeline, or choosing not to pursue tech in the first place.

Tech companies love to talk about the pipeline problem. Listen in on any recruitment team meeting and you'll hear people claim that there simply aren't enough women and women of color who know how to code. We disagree. Half of young women entering tech jobs leave before the age of 35. We do not have a pipeline problem. The problem is a culture that disrespects, undervalues, and underpays its women, and particularly its Black women.

We're working hard at Girls Who Code to close the gender gap in tech. But we need people in leadership to join us. What good is closing the gender gap in tech if women, and particularly women of color, continue to be paid less than their white male counterparts?

If you are in a position of power in tech today, ask yourself this: what are you personally doing to close the pay gap within your company?