International Women's Day 2026: The Marketing, Growth & Creative Gender Pay Gap

 3rd Mar 2026

Our International Women’s Day 2025 report examined nearly 800 professionals working across marketing, sales, media and creative, and identified a gender pay gap of 15.6%. Crucially, this gap was not driven by unequal representation early in careers. In fact, women were slightly better represented than men in mid-level roles. The disparity emerged higher up the career ladder, where women were significantly underrepresented in senior leadership positions such as Head of, Director, and C-Suite. This reinforced a clear structural pattern: the gender pay gap in marketing was shaped not only by differences in salary, but by differences in progression into the highest-paid leadership roles.

This year, analysing in-house marketing professionals across both Consumer (D2C) and B2B organisations combined, the data presents a more encouraging picture. The latest findings from our 2026 Salary & Work Insights Survey suggest that gender pay parity is progressing well in-house marketing leadership overall, with average salaries closely aligned between men and women at most seniority levels. However, while differences in pay within equivalent roles have narrowed significantly, small disparities in earnings and representation remain at the most senior leadership levels.

In-house marketing salary comparison: closely matched across leadership levels

The following table combines salary data across Consumer Brand (D2C) and B2B roles, self-reported by respondents in our 2026 Salary & Work Insights Survey, using midpoint salary estimates from reported salary bands. In total, we surveyed 63 women and 66 men from Manager up to Director level.

Mid-career level pay parity

At Manager level, male and female salaries are virtually identical, with women earning an average of £60,700 and men earning £60,600, showing salary parity in mid-career positions. Equal pay at this level means that women and men are entering senior leadership tracks on broadly equal financial footing.

Leadership pay gaps exist, but smaller than those observed in agencies

At Director and Head-of level, small salary differences emerge, but these gaps remain modest compared with those observed within agencies. At Head-of level, women earn £92,700 on average compared with £95,100 for men, a difference of just 2.5%. Meanwhile at Director level, women earn an average of £96,600 compared with £100,700 for men, representing a pay gap of 4.1%. A not insignificant difference, showing that there is still work to be done for achieving pay parity in senior leadership roles.

The glass ceiling within in-house marketing has weakened

Unlike in agencies, where women’s representation and earnings decline sharply at Director level, the in-house marketing data does not show the same structural drop-off in leadership compensation. Women are clearly progressing into senior leadership roles and are earning salaries more closely aligned with male counterparts. However, the data also suggests that small differences in salary progression persist. Even modest gaps of 2–4% at senior leadership level can compound over time to produce meaningful differences in lifetime earnings. This indicates that while the glass ceiling has weakened significantly, it has not disappeared entirely.

International Women’s Day 2026: Give To Gain

This year’s International Women’s Day theme, #GiveToGain, highlights the importance of creating clear and equitable leadership pathways. The in-house marketing data provides strong evidence that meaningful progress is already underway, and gender pay gaps are smaller across most leadership levels.

However, continued focus on leadership progression remains essential. Because equality is not defined simply by equal starting salaries. It is defined by equal opportunity to reach the highest levels of leadership. To learn more about this year’s International Women’s Day theme and how you can get involved, visit the official IWD campaign website.

Key findings: In-House Marketing Leadership

• Pay parity achieved at Manager level (£60,700 vs £60,600)
• Head of/Lead-level pay gap at 2.5%
• Director-level pay gap at 4.1%
• Glass ceiling weaker than in agencies according to our data