Women are still routinely being overlooked for the top jobs despite holding the vast majority of new roles within the travel industry, according to new research
Females accounted for 64% of all travel job placements in the first half of 2018, but were awarded just a quarter of all executive positions paying £40,000 or more.
By contrast, women were appointed in two thirds of all junior roles paying below £22,000, three quarters of all mid-level positions paying up to £29,999 and 60% of all senior travel jobs paying up to £39,999.
While women account for the majority of new appointments, they are still regularly earning less than their male counterparts in similar roles at most levels of the travel industry.
Although the gap may not be as pronounced as in many other professions, the average female in an entry level travel role took home £18,487 which is 2.22% or £415 less than the average male.
Similarly, women in senior roles earned an average of £32,375 or 1.34% less than men.
Only in mid level roles do women out-earn their male equivalents by 0.56% (or £145) with an average salary of £25,760.
There was very little difference in salaries for those placed in new executive roles, with men earning an average of £50,771, just 0.11% or £54 more than their female counterparts.
Barbara Kolosinska, director at C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive recruitment, which conducted the study, said:
“It’s disappointing that after so much publicity and attention in recent years, we are still seeing men significantly outnumber women when it comes to securing the most high profile jobs in our industry.
“This has to change and I’m sure it will over time, but amongst other things it will take a concerted effort from the current crop of female travel leaders to ensure they are role models and examples for the next generation to follow.”
She added: “These figures suggest that the travel industry is well on its way to eliminating the gender pay gap for executive positions, which is clearly fantastic news.
“However, until we see these wage discrepancies consistently eliminated across all levels of the industry, more work needs to be done.”