How do average salaries of asian men compare to white women in software engineering in 2024-2025?
Executive summary
Available 2024–2025 sources show Asian software engineers often report higher average or median pay than other racial groups, while white women (and women overall) continue to earn less than many male counterparts; for example, IEEE-USA’s 2024 survey reported Asian/Pacific Islander technical professionals had the highest median primary income at $178,500 versus White engineers at $176,500 [1], and multiple gender-gap reports show women earn substantially less than men in aggregate [2] [3]. Sources do not provide a single, nationwide, peer‑reviewed number that directly compares “Asian men” vs. “white women” specifically in software engineering for 2024–2025; available reporting offers separate race and gender slices that must be interpreted together (not found in current reporting).
1. Pay patterns: Asian engineers rank near the top of reported medians
Survey and industry reporting repeatedly put Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander technical professionals at or near the highest reported earnings among racial groups: IEEE‑USA’s 2024 salary survey lists the median primary income for Asian/Pacific Islander technical professionals at $178,500, higher than the $176,500 median for White engineers [1]. Zippia’s 2025 software‑engineer demographics page likewise states Asian software engineers have the highest average salary compared with other ethnicities [4]. Industry press (IEEE Spectrum) has tracked a trend since 2018 where offers to Asian tech workers surpassed those to White candidates in some datasets [5].
2. Gender gap remains — women earn less overall in tech
Multiple sources document a persistent gender pay gap in tech and engineering: Exploding Topics summarized that women software engineers earn roughly $86,157 on average and that women earn about $0.93 for every dollar a male software engineer makes [2]. Broad analyses from the Economic Policy Institute and others show the overall gender wage gap has narrowed but remains material, with women earning roughly 82–90% of men’s pay depending on dataset and year [3] [6]. These patterns mean comparing any racial group of men to any group of women requires accounting for a consistent downward pressure on women’s median pay across occupations [2] [3].
3. Direct comparison (“Asian men” vs “White women”) is not reported as a single figure
No source in the provided set gives a single, directly comparable 2024–2025 statistic that isolates Asian men in software engineering against White women in software engineering nationwide. Datasets report race‑based medians (e.g., IEEE’s Asian/Pacific Islander median) and gender‑based or race+gender aggregates (e.g., IWPR, NYS DOL) but do not publish the precise cross‑tabulation requested for software engineers in 2024–2025 (not found in current reporting). Where race+gender is reported more broadly (engineering or all occupations), findings vary by dataset and methodology [1] [7] [8].
4. Where combined race+gender figures exist, Asian women often fare better relative to other women—but that does not directly answer the question
Some sources that break down both race and gender report Asian women closer to parity with white men than many other women. For example, IWPR reports Asian women’s earnings as a higher share compared with White men than many groups [7]. The NYS DOL notes Asian women’s employment in higher‑paying occupations is relatively high compared with some other groups [8]. These findings suggest that within women’s cohorts there is heterogeneity by ethnicity; however, they do not directly report earnings for Asian men versus White women within software engineering specifically [7] [8].
5. Why numbers can point in different directions: data sources, definitions and selection
Differences in reported outcomes come from survey frame (self‑reported vs. employer payroll), occupation definition (engineer vs. broader “technical professional”), full‑time thresholds, and whether analyses control for experience, location, seniority, or company [1] [9]. Hired/market‑offer studies and large professional surveys can show Asian candidates receiving higher offers in some years, while population‑level census or BLS‑based reports show different patterns once occupation mix and geographic concentration are considered [5] [10].
6. What responsible readers should conclude and what remains uncertain
Responsible interpretation: available 2024–2025 reporting indicates Asian technical professionals often report among the highest median earnings in engineering surveys [1] [4], while women—including white women—remain subject to measurable pay deficits versus men overall [2] [3]. What remains uncertain and not found in current reporting is a direct, apples‑to‑apples median or mean comparison specifically between Asian men and white women within software engineering for 2024–2025; that cross‑tabulation is not provided in the sources at hand (not found in current reporting).
Sources cited above include Zippia (software engineer demographics), IEEE‑USA/IEEE Spectrum salary reporting, Exploding Topics, IWPR and NYS DOL analyses; readers should weigh methodology differences when comparing any two demographic slices [4] [1] [2] [7] [8].