Women in senior European data centre roles have reported earning average salaries 22% below those of men, with the gap widening to 27% in the US. 

That’s according to the latest DataX Connect salary survey, which found that women in senior permanent roles in Europe earned an average of £83,000, compared with £106,000 for men, while in the US, senior women averaged $148,000 against $202,000 for men. 

The pay disparity comes amidst a backdrop of a severe skills gap in the data centre sector, which also struggles to attract female talent. In fact, it’s reported that women make up less than 10% of the workforce in the global data centre industry – something that initiatives such as Critical Careers have been trying to address. 

While the pay disparity in senior level roles was significant, thankfully that didn’t seem to filter down to mid-level. European women reported average salaries of £76,000, against £80,000 for men, while the equivalent US figures were $147,000 and $151,000.

That doesn’t mean things are much closer to equal, however, as European male respondents also reported average bonuses equivalent to 14% of salary, compared with 11% among women.

Women report barriers to pay and progression

The salary data is accompanied by a substantial difference in how men and women perceive the impact of gender on their careers.

Some 46.4% of female respondents in Europe said their gender had negatively affected their pay or career progression, compared with 1.7% of men. In the US, the figures were 51.4% and 2.2% respectively.

Lizzy McDowell, Marketing Director at Kao Data and a founding partner of Critical Careers, said the findings suggest salary figures alone do not capture women’s experience in the sector.

“The numbers tell us something important: women may be satisfied with their pay, but that doesn’t mean they believe the system is fair,” she said.

It is important to note that the salary gaps are based on reported averages rather than a like-for-like analysis controlling for factors such as role, location, experience or employer type. That means that while the women have reached senior roles, they may not be at the same level as their average male counterparts – but then that becomes a problem in itself. 

It’s been noted time and time before that women often lack representation in the most senior roles, and that is widely reflected in the data centre industry. That doesn’t mean progress hasn’t been made, however. In fact, some of the biggest names in the data centre industry are run by women. That includes Equinix, which is headed up by Adaire Fox-Martin, and Pure Data Centres, which is led by Dame Dawn Childs. 

Career development drives retention concerns

The DataX Connect salary survey didn’t just find a significant pay gap between women and men, but it also found a wider retention challenge. 

In Europe, 38.8% of permanent employees said they planned to change companies within the next 12 months, despite 65% having received a pay rise during the previous year. It’s not entirely unsurprising considering the dwindling pool of expertise available to the industry creating ample opportunity to move – but could the industry do more to retain staff? 

Well, yes actually. That’s because career development was the most commonly cited reason for considering a move, selected by 36% of European respondents, compared with 30.1% for salary. Other remuneration, including bonuses, commission and equity, accounted for a further 10.7%.

In the US, 37.8% of permanent respondents said they were considering changing employers, despite 71% receiving a salary increase during the previous 12 months. Over there it was salary which remained the biggest reason for moving at 31.4%, with career development close behind at 29.5%. 

Within the UK, 38% of respondents said they were looking to change employers within a year. Satisfaction with base pay averaged 3.7 out of five, falling to 3.1 for bonuses and 3.3 for benefits.

The findings come as the sector faces growing pressure to expand its workforce. Data centre construction is already competing for increasingly scarce engineering and skilled-trade labour, while the industry has also begun investing more heavily in its future talent pipeline through initiatives including a dedicated route into the national STEM Ambassadors programme.

Data centre employers look beyond the sector

DataX’s findings suggest employers are already drawing heavily on people from adjacent industries.

Among UK respondents, infrastructure was the most common previous industry at 17%, followed by energy at 15%, semiconductor and pharmaceutical roles at 13%, manufacturing at 11% and telecommunications at 10%. Around one in eight UK respondents had entered the sector without previous data centre experience.

Across Europe, 41.7% of respondents had previously worked in energy or semiconductor and pharmaceutical roles. In the US, 36.9% came from either energy or military backgrounds.

Andy Davis, Director at DataX Connect, said employers will need to think more broadly about both where they recruit and what makes people stay.

“The challenge now is turning that insight into better decisions around where we recruit, how we attract people and how we retain them,” he said.