Women moving into a digital role are asked to request higher salaries in order to help close the pay gap between men and women. Men are paid an average of 9% more than women in the digital industry according to a study by The Candidate, a Manchester-based digital marketing recruitment company.

The Women in Digital report shows that the salary gap is slightly lower than the national average of 9.4%, but that women are still drastically underpaid: 44% of men fall within the £21,000 to £30,000 bracket and 43% of women earn less than £20,000. Tellingly, 80% of the industry’s top salaries go to men rather than women and only 18 out of the 150 digital agencies in the North are headed up by a woman.

The research shows that men tend to demand a far higher salary than women, as much as 17% more. Brian Matthews, managing partner at The Candidate, says, “Gender equality and offering women the same opportunities as men when it comes to job roles and salaries is something that every business should be striving towards. The wage gap within the digital industry is closing and while, at 9%, it is 0.4% less than the national average, there is still a way to go until gender equality is reached”.

However, The Candidate found that, although men are paid a higher salary, more women are beginning to move into the digital industry on entry level salaries, which is promising for the future of the industry.

The Woman in Digital report was informed by salary information collected from 200 males and females in low to mid-level digital roles.