How can we shrink the gender pay gap in copywriting?

Men earn more than women.

This fact – the gender pay gap – is prevalent in all industries and professions. Nationally, the gender pay gap is 18%.

Among copywriters, when we include all working modes (freelance, employed), the gender pay gap is significantly larger than the national average – at 29%.

Remember – these figures do not include part-time workers. We only included those copywriters who identified themselves as full-time workers.

But why is the divide so wide? Why do women in copywriting typically earn less than men?

As you can see from the graphic above, women copywriters earn less in every setting – including freelance. But why should women earn less as freelancers – when they have the most control over their rates?

We went back to our survey data and calculated the average day rates for men and women:

Women: £325
Men: £356

We also asked our respondents whether they believe gender affects income.

Only 31% of women believe their gender is a factor in determining their income – but even fewer men (16%) think gender is an issue.

Limitations with our data

We know that our data is limited, and that the results of our survey do not give a complete picture of earnings and working hours. While our respondents identified themselves as full-time workers, we don’t know the precise hours that these copywriters work. Income is also self-reported, so there could also be an element of under- or over-reporting from both men and women.

However, women were well-represented in our survey – so the pay imbalance is all the more shocking: