Labor market movements: the men versus the women

It is no surprise that there is (unconscious) bias among recruiters, clients or employers when it comes to attracting male and female workers. At least a few times a year, newspapers headline the huge salary gap between the two genders. However, as far as professionals are concerned, the difference in hourly rates has become very small and, more importantly, no longer statistically explainable by gender. Other factors, such as work experience and education level, now explain the difference. These and several surprising insights are presented in this Talent Monitor.

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Success of female self-employed surpasses men in labor market

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.

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Key findings

  • Female professionals are not paid significantly less or more per hour for the same work compared to male professionals. What is striking is that women, not significantly but structurally, get or accept a lower rate than men for the same work. The average difference is 1 to 2 euros per hour.
  • Factors such as work experience, area of expertise and level of education do determine different hourly rates, as does the extent to which being an independent professional is the main daily occupation. In other words, independent professionals who combine their work with other activities such as volunteering, being a househusband or housewife tend to receive lower hourly rates.
  • Women are more successful than men in obtaining assignments. Female independent professionals without an agency are 68% more successful in scoring an assignment than male independent professionals without an agency.
  • Independent professionals without an agency are more successful in scoring an assignment than if offered through an agency.
  • Male professionals are much more active in the job market than women and are approached remarkably more than women.

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