The latest Talent Monitor, a joint study by labor market data specialist Intelligence Group and HR-tech service provider HeadFirst Group, shows that female professionals - self-employed or employed by suppliers - are 68 percent more successful in obtaining assignments than their male counterparts. Moreover, the data analysis shows that female self-employed professionals no longer have a gender pay gap in hourly rates, whereas this was still the case before the corona pandemic.

Missed opportunity for recruiters
Despite the success of female professionals in winning assignments, they are less actively approached by recruiters than men. The analysis shows that, on average, men are approached one-third more often than women. Among independent professionals, this is just under 19 times per year among men versus nearly 15 times per year among women. Among employed workers, this happens more than 10 times a year versus nearly seven times a year.

Geert-Jan Waasdorp, director and founder of Intelligence Group, says: "Men are more likely to work full-time and are therefore attractive to recruiters. This could be financially driven, as more hours also means more turnover for a recruitment agency. In addition, a possible factor is that LinkedIn, one of the main sourcing channels, is slightly over-represented by men."

Marion van Happen, CEO of HeadFirst Group, adds: "This surprising insight highlights the importance of measuring effective recruitment efforts. Gut feeling no longer represents market dynamics. Organizations that have their numbers, both internal and external, in order are demonstrably more successful in placement, growth and profitability."

Gender equality in hourly rates
Where exactly there is no difference between male and female professionals is in the hourly rate. The rates have converged significantly over the past six years. Up to and including the first quarter of 2020, this difference was 10.3 percent, but after this corona period, the difference has become minimal and moreover not explanatory on the basis of gender. This is in contrast to other segments of the market or contract types where this is still the case. Of course, factors such as work experience, field and education level still play a role in explaining differences in rates.

"This groundbreaking result from our data analysis points to a promising development: there is no longer a gender pay gap between male and female professionals. This represents a crucial step toward a just and equal labor market for all. It is an inspiring goal to which we, together with our rapidly growing ecosystem, are striving," Van Happen concludes.

The Talent Monitor provides valuable insights into labor market movements and gender dynamics in the job market. The full report is available for free download at headfirst.group.