By Kristy Dorsey

Women in Scotland’s technology sector are willing to accept an average minimum salary that is almost £19,000 less than their male counterparts, according to new research.

Looking at the minimum expected salary of more than 1,000 current candidates, Scotland had the biggest gender gap of anywhere in the UK. At the other end of the spectrum, women in the West Midlands expect to earn more than men for the same roles.

In Scotland, female tech workers requested an average minimum salary of £22,000 per year, compared to £40,714 among their male counterparts. The resulting difference of £18,714 was well ahead of that in the region with the second-biggest gap, the south-west of England, where the difference is £14,377.

READ MORE: Can the Scottish tech sector bring women back into work?

Eleven of the 12 regions examined had an imbalance favouring men, with the smallest (£253) being in the north-east of England. In the West Midlands, female tech workers expect an average minimum salary of £37,200, versus £36,738 among men.

Mike Davies of Haystack, which carried out the study of users across its platform, said research has shown that women are more likely to accept job offers faster than men, meaning they are less likely to negotiate on the offered salary.

"With many job adverts not disclosing the offered salary as anything other than 'competitive', as long as what is on offer matches their minimum, women are more likely to take a role without question," he said.

“This is what perpetuates the gender pay gap, If women go into an interview with a lower expected salary and have been found to accept roles faster than their male counterparts, they will always be accepting less money than men going for the same job.”