You may want to think that men are dominating the entire technical and IT fields. But this is not entirely true. In fact according to a recent study, women earn more than men in some of the popular Information technology fields in the freelance market.
Typically, men earn more than women by a wide margin in project management, finance, and sales freelance market. The difference is most pronounced in finance and project management, where women’s mean hourly rate is only 53% and 56% of the mean hourly men’s rate respectively.
However, there are three top freelance jobs where women are earning more than men. These three fields make up 41 percent of the female freelancer population.
Before we continue, let me make this clear; this video is not about gender comparison or competition. It has nothing to do with the pay gap comparison that is rampant in the contemporary media. This video is purely for the sake of drawing the attention of people concerned to possible areas of opportunities.
The objective is that from watching this video, someone will be inspired to venture into a field they had earlier thought didn’t have much to offer them because of their gender. There are women who think that men have most of the advantage in some fields. However, technology is leveling the playing field. People across race, gender and regions are equally empowered to explore the opportunities technology has to offer. And in some cases, the assumed disadvantaged groups even have the upper hand.
I also want to point out something we need to understand about results from studies like this. There could be many reasons why women generally earn more than men in these fields. Some of which could be that;
- Since there are fewer women in the freelance market than men, the women tend to be averagely more skilled than the men. In other words, the difference between the most skilled men and the least skilled men may be wider compared to the difference between the most skilled and least skilled women.
- It could just be that women tend to offer better service than men in these fields.
It reason doesn’t really matter. What matters is that people get to realize that they too can actively participate in the global business landscape. Before we get to it, I’d like to invite you to subscribe to After School TV and click the notification bell to get notification when we publish new insightful videos like this.
Counting down, the third freelance job where women are earning more than men is…
- Multimedia production
This typically involves video and audio production. Women in freelance multimedia production earn a tiny 0.3 percent more than men. In other words, while men earn an average hourly rate of $25, women earn $26. 0.3 percent isn’t a lot. We could as well conclude that the freelance market does not discriminate against gender in the multimedia production space. People are offered jobs based on their ability to deliver, and not based on their gender.
Another interesting and unexpected finding from the survey that supports this is the impact of higher education on earnings. Freelancers who only graduated high school earn more than those who graduated with a bachelor’s degree, and slightly less than those with a postgraduate degree.
It’s not exactly clear why this is the case, but it does prove that the freelance market is built around skills and ability to get work done and not on academic qualification or whether you are a man or woman. If someone is hiring you as a freelancer, they want to know what previous clients are saying about your service and proof that you can get the job done.
Multimedia production is among the highest paying freelance work out there. If you are considering freelancing, you may want to give it a try.
The second freelance job where women are earning more money than men is..
- Web and graphic design
Women in freelance web and graphic design earn 4% more than their male counterpart; far more than the 0.3% from multimedia production. In other words, while men earn an average hourly rate of $19, women earn $20; again, not that wide a difference. But remember that the point is not about who earns more than who. It is rather to understand that gender is not a limitation to make money in these fields.
With many web and graphic design open source applications and software readily available, web and graphic design has become largely a creative skill than a technical one. Almost anyone can learn to use the available web and graphic design tools. And the women in these fields are delivering great jobs that allow them to command deserving pay. Interestingly, majority of freelancers – up to 30% – are into web and graphic design. And that makes the field quite competitive. You have to be good at what you do and be good at promoting your service to stand out.
The number one freelance job where women are earning more than men is…
- Marketing
Women in freelance marketing earn a whopping 17 percent more than men. While men earn average hourly rate of $22, women earn as much as $26. This is the number one freelance job where women are taking the lead; from social media marketing, search engine marketing to influencer marketing.
I don’t know if there is a study on this, but from observation, women generally excel better than men in marketing, since they could be better at empathizing and connecting with their prospect. But it’s still an even playing field for everyone who would develop the required skills.
The interesting thing about these freelance jobs – multimedia production, web and graphic design, and marketing – is that they are flexible and the skills can be developed by just about anyone including a stay at home mum with two kids.
If there is one thing you are going to take away from this video, it should be this; technology is leveling the playing field. Now more than ever, people have the chance to assume any role or profession they want to play in the economy, and be rewarded regardless of who they are or where they come from. I believe that should inspire anyone to take responsibility for their life and get to work.
If you found this video helpful, like and share it with someone who needs to watch this. If you are yet to subscribe to After School TV, now is a good time to hit the subscribe button. Until next time, YOUR SUCCESS MATTERS!
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