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to 2002 Salary Survey2002 Gender Analysis
This year’s percentage of women responding was higher than last year’s (70% this year, 61% last year), but comparable to both Atlanta (67%) and National (70%), as shown in Table 1. Response rates continue to show the dominance of women in the technical communications field. Note that some respondents did not answer the gender question
Table 1. Gender Comparison: Huntsville, Atlanta, National
|
Gender |
Huntsville 2001 (%) |
Huntsville 2002 (%) |
Atlanta 2002 (%) |
National 2002 (%) |
|
Female |
61 |
70 |
67 |
70 |
|
Male |
33 |
28 |
33 |
30 |
Source:
National mean taken from Society for Technical Communication (STC). STC 2002 Communicator Salary Survey. 49.8 (2002): supplement.Although the technical communication field is predominately female, women's salaries averaged 7% less than men's salaries, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Gender Analysis: 2002 Salary Data
|
Gender |
Base |
Min Salary |
Max Salary |
Mean Salary |
Median Salary |
|
Female |
71 |
$27,000 |
$93,600 |
$48,907 |
$48,000 |
|
Male |
29 |
$30,000 |
$86,000 |
$52,505 |
$52,000 |
Salaries increased for female respondents in 2002 (see Table 3), but salaries for both men and women are lower than the STC national salary averages. They are, however, comparable to the median salary that STC reports for all technical communicators in our region. That salary median is $49,380; half of the salaries for technical communicators in our region fall below that, half above it. Our median salary for writers (our largest response group) is very close to that at $49,000.
Table 3. Mean Salary Comparisons by Gender, 2000-2002
| Gender | 2000 Huntsville | 2001 Huntsville | 2002 Huntsville | 2002 National STC |
| Female |
$44,689 |
$47,962 |
$48,907 | $59,430 |
| Male |
$48,976 |
$53,952 |
$52, 505 | $60,350 |
Source:
National mean taken from Society for Technical Communication (STC). STC 2002 Communicator Salary Survey. 49.8 (2002): supplement.Salaries are not truly comparable unless job function and experience are factored in. This year, a UAH graduate student, Russell Spry, did a close analysis of 2001 HNA STC salary data focusing on gender as a variable in the two industries from which we had most respondents, computer software and government. His study concludes that men earned about $35K more than women overall despite individual category survey results that women earn more than men in two experience categories (2-5 years and 16-25 years). Even in comparisons on the most direct levels, women earned significantly less for the same work in the same job fields as men. Comparisons to national STC data for 1997-2001 indicate that this is a prevalent trend. For full details, see Spry's report.
2002 Huntsville/North Alabama STC Salary Survey Results