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Underlining the problem, more than one in three say they have evidence that this is the case. The annual survey entitled Perceptions of Equal Pay was conducted by Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology industry.

Anecdotal evidence from the survey highlights how many women are turning away from careers in technology because of perceptions of inequality. Additional research from Intellect indicates the number of women employed in the IT sector has fallen to just 16 per cent. Unequal pay is fuelling this problem. Yet, the technology industry, which currently contributes around £120 billion or 10 per cent of GDP to the economy, is suffering from an acute skills shortage. Attracting and retaining women in the industry could increase the industry’s contribution to GDP by several billion pounds now and in the future.

The survey demonstrates how important transparent pay structures are. Over three quarters of respondents said that if a company conducted an equal pay audit it would encourage them to work for the organisation. Yet, only 4 per cent were aware that their companies conduct these audits.

It also shows that while most organisations seem to encourage women as much as men to apply for promotions and treat them equally in the promotion process, women are still seen to be paid less than men for doing the same job.

Gillian Arnold, sales manager, IBM, commented: "From my experience working in the technology industry I know that most women will start to look elsewhere if they perceive a pay gap, and that elsewhere is likely to be outside the industry. I also know that perceived inequality puts many women off from entering our industry in the first place."

Carrie Hartnell, Women in Technology programme manager at Intellect comments: "It is clear that perceptions of unequal pay in the technology industry still abound and I am disappointed by the small scale of improvements on last year’s results. In most cases perceptions of inequality have only fallen between 1 and 5 per cent. Today’s findings illustrate how a lack of equal pay in the technology industry is damaging our economy. Intellect is urging the private sector to follow the lead of the public sector and implement equal pay audits as soon as possible."

The Perceptions of Equal Pay 2007 survey was conducted online during the spring and summer of this year. 368 employees in the technology industry took part in this survey. Key findings include:

• 54 per cent of women think their pay package is not comparable to male colleagues performing a similar role. 35 per cent have evidence of this.
• 70 per cent of organisations are perceived to encourage women as much as men to apply for promotions. 71 per cent of respondents believe they would be treated fairly when applying for promotion.
• While in theory most organisations support equal pay, in practice only just over one third are perceived to.
• 56 per cent of respondents feel the pay structures in their organisation are not transparent.
• Only 4 per cent of companies have conducted an equal pay audit that employees are aware of, yet 62 per cent of respondents said by doing so the company had improved its image in their eyes. 81 per cent think that equal pay audits should be compulsory and 72 per cent say it would encourage them to work for a company.
• Experience and skills (33 per cent each) are perceived to be the factors most reflected in technology workers pay packets, coming ahead of hours worked (13 per cent), qualifications (12 per cent) and workload (10 per cent).