提到科技行業(yè)本該代表著多元化和未來感,然而程序員的性別收入差異卻成為問題。據(jù)調查,男性程序員竟然比女性多掙28%的工資。
測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識:
transparency透明;幻燈片[tr?n'sp?r(?)ns?]
controversial有爭議的[k?ntr?'v???(?)l]
discrepancy不符;矛盾;相差[d?s'krep(?)ns?]
equitable公平的,公正的['ekw?t?b(?)l]
By Leslie Hook in San Francisco
As tech companies have moved towards more transparency around diversity figures, a growing number have also lifted the lid on an even more sensitive subject — the pay gap.
Those figures can be controversial because the biggest pay gap between men and women is found in the role of computer programmer, a job that dominates many tech companies.
Male computer programmers make 28 per cent more than their female counterparts, after adjusting for differences between jobs and workers. That gap is four times larger than the US national average, according to a recent study from Glassdoor.
Despite, or perhaps because of, these differences, an increasing number of tech companies have started to conduct pay-gap audits, ranging from industry giants like Microsoft and Intel, to newer companies like Facebook and Airbnb.
Some of them, such as Salesforce and Cisco, have publicly committed to spending millions of dollars to adjust pay discrepancies uncovered during their audits. Last year, Salesforce said it had spent $3m on adjustments, and the company expected to spend a similar amount in a new review this year, following several acquisitions.
One of the reasons that companies have recently starting publishing their pay analysis data is not only to attract women and to be more equitable — but also in response to shareholder activism. A number of sustainable investment companies have filed shareholder resolutions demanding pay audits at large tech groups, including Apple, Amazon, eBay and Qualcomm.
“A lot of times this is sort of the first time that it has been brought to their attention, that this is an area that investors are interested in,” says Heather Smith, analyst at Pax World Management, a mutual fund focused on sustainable investment strategies.
Pax led a shareholder resolution in 2015 asking Apple to conduct a pay audit, a request that the company agreed to. It has filed or co-filed half a dozen similar requests with other tech companies. When this happens, most companies agree to conduct a pay audit before the matter comes to a vote.
In the tech industry overall, the gender pay gap is about 6 per cent, once adjusted for different types of jobs and experience levels, a level that is similar to the US overall, according to Glassdoor.
However, the tech companies that have published the results of their pay-gap data report very small gaps of 0.1 per cent of 0.2 per cent, or no gap at all.
1.In which job the biggest pay gap between men and women is found?
A.Journalist
B.Mutual found analyct
C.Computer programmer
D.Senior manager
答案(1)
2.What did a lot of tech companies start to do?
A.Hire more female workers
B.Conduct pay-gap audits
C.Pay more to their female workers
D.Give more benefits to female workers
答案(2)
3.How much did Salesforce spend on adjustments last year?
A.$3m
B.$4m
C.$5m
D.$6m
答案(3)
4.What is the gender pay gap in the tech industry overall?
A.6%
B.8%
C.16%
D.28%
答案(4)
(1)答案:C.Computer programmer
解釋:隨著許多科技公司的內部透明化,男性與女性程序員在收入方面的巨大差距浮出水面。
(2)答案:B.Conduct pay-gap audits
解釋:男女程序員之間巨大的收入差異,使得許多包括谷歌這樣行業(yè)巨頭的科技公司開始了對企業(yè)內部的收入差距核實。
(3)答案:A.$3m
解釋:Salesforce在去年一年花費了近300百萬美元,用于調節(jié)男女程序員之間的收入差異。
(4)答案:A.6%
解釋:就整個科技行業(yè)而言,性別收入差異大約為6%。