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Microsoft: We've Nearly Closed Gender Pay Gap

On Equal Pay Day, meanwhile, Facebook reports that it's doing even better.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Microsoft has made progress on its effort to close the gender pay gap — but the software giant still hasn't completely eliminated the divide.

"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," Microsoft's Executive Vice President of human resources Kathleen Hogan wrote in a Thursday blog post in honor of Equal Pay Day, a public awareness event intended to illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages.

The announcement comes a year and a half after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in response to his controversial remarks at the Grace Hopper conference about women and pay raises, outlined a new diversity plan for the company, which included a focus on ensuring equal pay for equal work. At the time, female Microsoft employees in the U.S. earned 99.7 cents for every $1 earned by men.

Meanwhile, racial and ethnic minorities are faring better at Microsoft, earning $1.004 for every $1 earned by their Caucasian counterparts, Hogan revealed. Breaking it down, African-American employees earn $1.003, Hispanic/Latino(a) employees make 99.9 cents, and Asian employees make $1.006 for every $1 earned by Caucasian employees at the same job title and level.

"These numbers reflect our commitment to equal pay for equal work, and I'm encouraged by these results," Hogan wrote. "We will continue our commitment to equal pay by monitoring this data and publicly disclosing it."

Meanwhile, Microsoft wasn't the only tech giant to acknowledge Equal Pay Day. Facebook on Thursday one-upped Redmond, revealing that it its employees don't have to worry about a gender pay gap.

"We regularly review our compensation practices to ensure pay equity, and have done so for many years," Facebook's Head of HR Lori Goler wrote in a post on the social network. "We complete thorough statistical analyses to compare the compensation of men and women performing similar work. I'm proud to share that at Facebook, men and women earn the same."

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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