Pay gap ‘virtually extinct’ for self-employed and freelance workers

New research has revealed that the gender pay gap is ‘virtually extinct’ among freelancers and self-employed workers in the UK. The news comes as many men and women across the country have set their Out Of Office as part of Equal Pay Day, which marks the day the average woman is no longer being paid compared to their male equivalents.

Women competing for freelance or self-employed opportunities in industries like plumbing, photography, and personal training matched men on the site when it came to money earned and number of jobs won, according to research by Bidvine. In the top five industry categories there was ‘little-to-no evidence’ of a gender pay gap at play across average rates in the last 12 months up to and including 31st October 2017.

Figures for 2017 from the ONS put the average gap at 14.1% across all age groups and industry, a figure which has remained unchanged in the last three years, despite the Equal Pay Act being 47 years old.

“It’s great to see that, at least among the skilled professionals on our site, the gender pay gap is virtually extinct,” said Russ Morgan. “The explosion of freelance and self-employed workers has seen a shift in how people value the work they do, and what their customers see as value for money for a job well-done.”

Bidvine.com is an online local services marketplace where members of the public can ask local service professionals to bid for work. Professionals include dance teachers, wedding service providers, tutors, personal trainers, and photographers, and the site sees hundreds of thousands of job requests every year.

“Of course, more could always be done, but because at Bidvine.com we connect customers with professionals that meet their exact needs, gender has seemingly become less of an issue.”

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