The gender pay gap among freelancers

In our latest research, we reveal the reality of the gender pay gap between men and women in 2025 and uncover key trends. 

What we did

To study the gender pay gap among freelancers, we gathered data from over 7,000 U.S-based freelancers on the freelance marketplace Upwork. We scraped freelancers’ names, specialties, and hourly rates, then used AI to determine the gender of freelancers to give us the average rate among men and women in each category. 

Key findings:  

• Male freelancers earn approximately 14.9% more per hour than female freelancers

• The largest gender pay gap is in the Sales & Marketing industry, with women charging 25% less per hour than male counterparts

• In gig economy, women make approximately 87 cents for every dollar a man makes

Women earn 87 cents for every dollar men make in freelance work

According to our research, the median charge per hour for male freelancers is $80.11, while female freelancers charge only $69.67.

In full-time employment, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics finds women earn 16.4% less than average. Interestingly, having the freedom to set your own rates hasn’t diminished the gender pay gap either, as women charge almost 15% less on average per hour. 

When reviewing sectors, we found that the industry where the gender pay gap is the biggest is Sales & Marketing, with a difference of over $16.53 per hour in favor of male freelancers.

The Design and Creative industry sees the most equal pay out of those analysed,  with women charging 2.4% less than male counterparts on average.

The sales and marketing industry has the largest gender pay gap

When it comes to crafting brand strategies and driving revenue, the difference between male and female rates working in the Sales and Marketing sector is at its widest, with men charging almost 25% more per hour.

When looking at specialties within sales and marketing, men charge $25 more per hour for marketing strategy. Freelance Map indicates that the average marketing project length spans 40 hours, and by that math, male marketing strategists could earn almost $1,000 ($992) more than their female freelancers per project.

Social Media and Content are the only specialties within the marketing and sales industry where female freelancers charge more per hour on average - but set their rates at just $1.36 higher than men. 

Men charge as much as $60 more than women when working in Data Science

According to the data from The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 39,368 data science freelancers in the U.S. In data science, men charge approximately 19% more on average than women. Comparatively, Analytics Insight reports that in full-time work, male data scientists earn 25% more than female counterparts. 

Women earn less per hour in all but one area, data analytics, and business intelligence, where they earn just $3 more.

Women earn less per hour in all but one area, data analytics, and business intelligence, where they earn just $3 more. For freelancers working 40 hours per week, women earn approximately $561.20 on average less than men.

Female freelancers specializing in AI earn 18% less per hour than male freelancers

AI is a booming market, with Grand View Research valuing the US AI market at $42.6 billion in 2023. In full-time work, a research report from The Alan Turing Institute found that women were more likely to occupy a job associated with less status and pay. 

When looking at the freelance market, men earn 19% more on average than women. However, when working on design and visualization AI projects, women listed their hourly rate as $68.33 higher than men.

Female freelance engineers and architects earn more when working on four key project areas

While the pay gap still exists in the freelance Engineering & Architecture market, it’s significantly lower than in previously covered industries. In more aspects than other industries analyzed, women charge more than their male counterparts. 

According to NCARB, women represent 27% of licensed architects and about 17% of engineers. In projects such as CAD Design & Drafting, males set their hourly rate at $8.55 more than females. However, in Mathematics & Statistics, the gender pay gap favors women, charging almost twice as much as men.

The freelance creative industry offers a more level playing field for men and women

With only a $2 difference, the gender pay gap for the creative industry is the lowest out of all other industries analyzed. Also, according to Statista, 77% of the workforce in design do so on a freelance basis.

The data found that in Photography, female freelancers earned up to $21 more per hour than men - equating to $168 more for a day project. Comparatively, male narrators earn just a dollar’s difference from their female counterparts, making it the smallest difference in pay across all projects analyzed.  

The gender pay gap among freelancers is not consistent, yet it reveals that while some industries have made progress, women continue to earn less on average. Just like in the case of traditional employment, the emphasis on equal pay should be present. All workers, freelancers, full-time office workers, and of any gender must be equally and fairly compensated for their skill and experience. If you’re considering the switch to freelancing, but not sure which jobs you should target, check out career.io’s Career Exploration to find the right path for you. Use career.io’s Salary Analyzer tool and make sure you’re getting an offer that aligns with similar jobs in your market.

Methodology

Career.io went through the data from over 7,000 U.S-based freelancers on Upwork, with a focus on those with “Top Rated,” “Top Rated Plus,” or “Rising Talent” tags to ensure a fair comparison. Hourly rates, specialties, and names were collected, with gender associated per name using AI.

This analysis highlights the Gender Pay Gap across industries by comparing male and female freelancers' earnings and assesses the impact of specialization and experience on the gender wage gap. Data collected: February 2025