However, despite being awarded the majority of new jobs in travel, the average female in the industry still earns less than her male counterparts.
The average male working in travel earned 6.5% (or £1,805) more than a female in 2021, compared to a gap of 14.2% in 2019, 18.4% in 2018 and 12.8% in 2017.
For the first time in the recruitment firms’ index’s history, which launched in 2014, women in executive travel jobs (those paying £40,000 a year and above) out-earned men, with the typical female receiving 7.7% (or £3,919) more than their male equivalents, with a salary of £52,703.
For senior travel jobs (those paying between £30,000 and £39,999), men earned 0.8% more than the average woman with £32,650, or a difference of £268. Men also out-earned women in mid-level positions (those paying between £22,000 and £29,999) with an average of £25,542 and a difference of 2% or £518.
However, the situation was reversed for junior roles (those paying below £22,000) with women out-earning men by 2.8%, taking home an average wage of £20,178 (or a gap of £556).
Women continued to be awarded the majority of new positions at all levels of the industry, with females accounting for 76.6% of all new junior roles (up from 70.8% in 2019 and up from 74% in 2018), and 73.4% of all mid-level positions (up from 72% in 2019 and down from 75% in 2018).
Women also took 74.4% of all new senior jobs in travel last year (up from 69% in 2019 and 62.3% in 2018) and 61% of all executive roles (up from 53% in 2019 and 38% in 2018).
Speaking about the findings, Barbara Kolosinska, managing director at C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment, said any difference in salaries between men and women "is too much, but it is still very pleasing to see the gender pay gap in the travel industry fall".
"There is still a long way to go to reach parity, but this report makes for encouraging reading," she added. "What’s particularly promising is that for the first time since we began these surveys in 2014, men are no longer significantly out-earning women in higher-salaried executive travel roles.
"Whether this is a blip caused by the pandemic or an indication of a more long-term trend is unknown at this point, but travel’s gender pay gap appears to be reducing."
