Stop the presses; female contractors and freelancers could very well be earning more than their male counterparts for the first time in what feels like forever!
It seems too good to be true, but apparently it’s real: a new research survey from a online contractor marketplace says that when it comes to self-employed women, whether they be freelancers, umbrella company contractors or any other type of interim worker, they tend to earn more than their male counterparts. On top of that, when female freelancers bid on contracts against male rivals, they tend to win them more.
So here’s the deal: ever since women have been “permitted” to leave the home and actually become fully-fledged members of society by being granted the right to own property, vote, and work in a capacity that didn’t involve doing the washing up and cooking your porridge every night, the pay that women have been awarded for their hard work often lagged behind male workers with identical qualifications and expertise. Most people call it the gender pay gap – though I’m sure most women have some more choice words for the phenomenon – and women have been fighting against it for what feels like forever.
However, it looks like that might no longer be the case for female contract workers, believe it or not. Research says that while men earn around £21.57 for an hour’s worth of work in the UK, women actually earn more – £22.43 an hour in fact. It might not seem like much, but in some industries the gender pay gap can be as much as 30 per cent or even more, and not in the female worker’s favour, so don’t whinge!
Meanwhile, when a woman goes up against a man in bidding for a particular contract or client it looks like female contractors have an edge. Women win these contracts about 58 per cent of the time; in other words not only are female freelancers better paid than men, they get more work than them as well!
I’m sure some male contract workers will be crying bitter tears at the news. To that I say bollocks. Get your heads out of your arses and just be happy for your female colleagues for once, can’t you? If you ask me, it’s a major bloody milestone and it should be celebrated as one!
