New research has revealed a stark widening of the gender pay gap in the highest-paid jobs in the travel industry, with women earning 38.45% less than their male counterparts last year.
Recruitment firm C&M Travel Recruitment, which carried out the research, said the pay gap for roles earning £40,000 and above was 14% in 2022.
It said the reason for the pay gap is that the majority of positions with the very highest salaries are being awarded to men.
Below this, salary gaps are much less significant, it said, with the average woman working in a senior role (paying £30,000 to £39,999) taking home 0.86% less than a man.
Women in mid-level positions, paying from £22,000 to £29,999, earned 0.62% less than men. For entry-level jobs, the pay gap was just 0.27%.
Overall, C&M’s research found that the women working in travel typically took home 11.15% less than men last year, compared to 11.5% less in 2022.
The gender pay gap remains despite women making up the majority of workforce in the travel industry, with 69% of new jobs going to females last year.
Women took 60% of entry-level jobs, down from 82% in 2022, 71% of mid-level positions, down from 77%, and 68% of senior roles, down from 66% the previous year.
However, men were awarded 58% of all roles paying £60,000-plus, compared to a 50:50 split in 2022.
C&M Managing Director Barbara Kolosinska said: “The positive news is that for the majority of positions in the travel industry, the gender pay gap has been eliminated – which is something to be celebrated.
“For those seeking an entry-level, mid-level or senior role in the travel industry, candidates can expect to receive the same salary as their counterparts, regardless of their gender.
“However, that is not the case when we look at the top of the industry. It’s encouraging to see that more women are being placed in £40,000+ roles than just a few years ago, but men are still routinely earning more than females in these positions. And things get even more pronounced when we look at the highest salaried jobs in travel, with men being awarded the majority of these roles and earning far more than their equivalents.
“The travel industry has come a long way in recent years in terms of pay disparity, but these stats should be a stark reminder that much more needs to be done to target, support and promote women into some of the most senior roles in our sector.”
