Technology

Microsoft Pays Women as Much as Men, but Board Member Count Is Terrible

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: April 12, 2016 6:47 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 10:54 am

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was the latest tech company to release the ratio of the pay of men vs. women. Unlike some others in the sector, women make $0.998 compared to $1 for men. So far, no company in the industry has women paid more than men, a sort of sign that women have made progress but have not turned the table on a world in which men are paid more. Even a tenth of a cent is telling.

Only one of Microsoft’s top operating management is a women. However, two are among Microsoft’s top five executives in terms of pay, according to the company’s proxy. The same proxy shows three of 11 board members are women.

According to Kathleen Hogan, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, at Microsoft:

Today, for every $1 earned by men, our female employees in the U.S. earn 99.8 cents at the same job title and level. Racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. combined earn $1.004 for every $1 earned by their Caucasian counterparts. Breaking it down even further, African American/black employees are at $1.003; Hispanic/Latino(a) employees are at 99.9 cents; and Asian employees are at $1.006 for every $1 earned by Caucasian employees at the same job title and level, respectively.

By the way, Hogan is one of three senior managers among Microsoft’s top 12, based on the company’s count of top executives. Two of these have non-operating jobs. These are Hogan and Chief Financial Officer Amey Hood. At Microsoft, women don’t run much, even if overall pay is equal.