Data published by C&M Travel Recruitment on Thursday (8 May) showed the industry’s gender pay gap grew to 13.83% in 2024 – the biggest imbalance since 2019 when the gap was 14.15%.
It means women working in travel are now earning £35,245 on average, while men receive £40,483 on average, a disparity of some £5,238. The data also underlined how travel typically continues to be sector which is broadly staffed by women but administered by men.
However, while the gap has widened, C&M said the industry’s wage differential could once again be "largely attributed" to the differences in pay at the highest levels, with men holding 61.1% of all positions paying £60,000 and above – up from 57.9% in 2023.
The figures also showed that in 2024, men in travel’s highest-paid jobs were taking home average salaries of £83,227 – nearly a quarter (23.81%) more than their female counterparts, whose average salaries ran to £65,521.
"It’s very disappointing to see the overall gender pay gap in the travel industry widen last year,” said C&M Travel Recruitment co-owner and managing director Barbara Kolosinska. “With the gender pay gap increasing for the highest paid in our industry, it’s hard to put a positive spin on these figures.”
However, Kolosinska highlighted how at lower pay levels, the salary gaps were less significant.
For those in roles paying up to £29,999, the gender pay gap in 2024 was 1.06%, with men taking home an additional £280 on average. This increases slightly to a gap of 1.47% for those in mid-level positions paying between £30,000 and £39,999 with women earning £500 less on average.
The gap then narrows again in the £40,000 to £59,999 pay bracket where the disparity was just 0.71% or £328.
“While much has been done at the lower levels of travel in terms of pay disparity in recent years, this report should be a reminder that we should not be complacent,” Kolosinska continued.
“The travel industry is a wonderful, inclusive place to work, but we need to do more to ensure that the top of our industry is a reflection of that inclusivity.”
The research also showed that women were awarded the majority of new travel jobs in 2024, 66.1%, but these levels were down from 68.3% in 2023 and 70.7% in 2022.
Women took 68.7% of all entry-level roles, up from 60% in 2023, and were awarded 70% of roles paying between £30,000 and £39,999.
C&M Travel Recruitment noted a downward trend for both mid-level and upper-mid level positions, as the number of females employed in roles paying up to £39,999 went down by 0.7 percentage points compared with 2023, while the number of women earning up to £59,999 went down from 75.9% in 2023 to 60.9% in 2024.
