Equal Pay Day is April 10. It will pass in a blink, with women still striving to take home the same salary male counterparts earn for comparable work.

It’s a recurring refrain. As many women – and some men –  have pointed out, equal pay for women is vital for families. 

U.S. women who work full time, year-round are typically paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to males doing the same or similar work, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

[Also: Most Influential Women in Health IT at work closing gender gap]

The findings mirror what is happening in the healthcare IT industry today, and they are reflective of current and past compensation reports from HIMSS.

Males working in healthcare IT were paid $123,244, while women earned $100,447, according to the 2018 HIMSS U.S. Compensation Survey, which the association released at HIMSS18. 

[Also: Salary gap data: More women are managers but pay not keeping pace]

The average salary of digital health professionals continues to increase with the trajectory appearing to slow after an initial period of growth during the first few years of the study period.

For 2018, HIMSS analyzed compensation data between men and women. For the first time, the organization also compared compensation by race. The results uncovered disparities among select population groups. The evidence suggests that on average both female and non-white digital health professionals are paid less than their respective peers. HIMSS also found that employers are more restrictive in awarding bonuses than salary increases.

The average salary of health IT professionals varies by gender and race. On average across all positions and years in a position, females make 18 percent less than their male peers, and minorities make 12 percent less than non-minorities.

“As we dig deeper, nuanced disparities emerge,” HIMSS VP Carla Smith wrote in a blog posted on HIMSS.org. “Executive-level women face a larger salary gap compared to their male counterparts than women at other organizational levels.” 

And that gap is still growing. Also, older respondents across all gender and racial categories reported greater pay disparities than their younger counterparts. Minority females face the biggest gap in pay equity of all, with the lowest average salaries of the four gender-racial groups considered.

The HIMSS compensation survey garnered 885 responses.

Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com