Hostile attitudes
China's booming internet sector has resulted in growing demand for programmers. According to a 2015 report by the US management services researcher Boston Consulting Group, the internet industry - which maintained compound growth of 50 percent between 2011 and 2014 - was directly responsible for the creation of 1.7 million jobs in China in 2014.
However, according to the 100 offer report, the highly competitive industry has displayed a hostile attitude toward female programmers, who are generally offered lower salaries than their male counterparts for the same position.
For positions in either Java programming or front-end development, male programmers are usually offered 10 percent, or 3,000 yuan ($432.50) to 4,000 yuan, more than their female equivalents.
"During the recruitment process, many companies worry that female programmers will marry and have children at some stage, which means they will have to devote a substantial amount of time to their family life," said Kang Wenjuan, a recruitment consultant with 100 offer.
The company's report also found that the wage gap widens with experience - the salary gap between male and females programmers is about 24 percent for those with more than five years' experience.
The problem has also been noted by Hired, a job search platform in the United States. In a report published last year, the platform said that there is a wage gap of 7 to 8 percent between male and female software engineers in Silicon Valley.
"On average, we found that companies offer women 3 percent less than men for the same roles, with some companies offering as much as 30 percent less," the report said.
Kang, from 100 offer, said her company's research established that age is also a major factor in the employment of female programmers. Those ages 26 to 29 and with three to four years work experience have a significantly higher chance of landing a job with an internet company. After that, things begin to deteriorate.
"There are significantly fewer opportunities for female programmers ages 30 or older. The situation is particularly bad for those who are single, and those who are married but have not yet had children," she said.
