Travel's gender pay gap ‘almost solely’ down to disparities for highest-paid roles

C&M Travel Recruitment found the industry’s gender pay differential was “almost solely” attributed to pay disparities for the highest-salaried roles.

Below this, salary gaps were much less significant, with the average female working in a senior role paying between £30,000 and £39,999 taking home £288 (0.86%) less than males.

For those in mid-level positions paying between £22,001 and £29,999, women earned £163 (0.62%) more than men, while for entry-level roles paying up to £22,000, men earned 0.27% or £57 more than comparable women.

The typical female working in travel took home 11.15% less than their male equivalent last year, compared to a gap of 11.5% in 2022 and 14.15% in 2019. This resulted in a gender pay gap of £3,678 in 2023, with women earning an average of £32,989, while men received £36,667.

C&M said this was due to the stark difference in pay for those in highest-salaried jobs. The pay gap for executive roles of £40,000 or more jumped considerably from 14.21% in 2022 to 38.45% in 2023, “with the majority of positions with the very highest salaries being awarded to men”, C&M said.