Women continue to dominate the travel industry in the UK, however the gender pay gap for executive roles has increased, according to the latest data from recruitment specialist C&M Travel Recruitment.
Women were awarded 71 per cent of all roles the in travel industry in 2022 and, while the pay disparity with their male counterparts has narrowed for junior and senior roles, the gap widens further up the pay scale.
For junior roles (those paying up to £22,000), the gap was 0.41 per cent with the average man earning £85 more than a woman. This was reversed for mid-level positions (those paying between £22,001 and £29,999) with women earning £103 (or 0.39 per cent) more than men.
For senior positions (those paying between £30,000 and £39,999), men take home £267 (0.81 per cent) more than their female equivalents and for executive roles (those paying £40,000 and above), men reported earning an average of £55,792 – £7,402 (or 14.21 per cent) more than their female counterparts. This gap has increased from 11.94 per cent in 2019 and 10.56 per cent in 2018, according to C&M.
Due to the difference in salaries for high-end jobs, the overall pay gap in the travel industry stands at 11.5 per cent (or £3,606), down from 14.15 per cent in 2019 and 18.35 per cent in 2018.
C&M told BTN Europe the above salary figures are based on all job placements made in 2022, 50 per cent of which were in the business travel segment.
The figures echo representation discrepancies highlighted in a recent GBTA report, where men outnumbered women in companies with higher annual travel spend.
Despite the pay gap, women continue to dominate the industry in terms of numbers, occupying 81.6 per cent of entry-level roles and 76.8 per cent of mid-level roles.
For senior roles, women were awarded 66 per cent of all new jobs in 2022 (compared to 69.9 per cent in 2019 and 62.3 per cent in 2018), while 55 per cent of all executive roles were taken by women (compared to 53.2 per cent in 2019 and just 38.1 per cent in 2018).
Commenting on the findings, C&M Travel Recruitment managing director Barbara Kolosinska said: "The travel industry has come a long way from just a few years ago, with more and more women being placed in higher-salaried roles, but more work still needs to be done.
“There is a real opportunity for travel to lead the way by creating true pay parity at all levels and eliminating the gender pay gap for good, but this will not happen until we start seeing more women being awarded the very top jobs,” she said.