Men make 26.4% more than women in the freelancing industry, a new study finds
In the U.S., the number of full-time freelancers grew by 91% and occasional freelancers by 132% between 2020 and 2023. Today, 72.1 million Americans — around 45% of the workforce — do freelance work some or all of the time, according to MBO Partners. Some have redefined their careers based on a change of circumstances or expectations during the pandemic. And others have graduated into a world where freelancing is simply a natural progression.
“Younger professionals […], as digital natives raised with the internet and social media, are creating a new blueprint for career opportunities outside of the traditional corporate world,” Margaret Lilani, VP of talent solutions at Upwork, told Fortune. For these digital natives, “uncertainty around college, internships, and the job market are coinciding with a mindset shift in how people are thinking about work.”
But unfortunately, one other way that freelancing has become “normal” is the wage disparity. In full-time permanent work, a woman in the U.S. will only earn 84 cents for every dollar a man earns. For our new study, we have discovered that, on average, a female freelancer charges just 79 cents for every dollar a male freelancer charges. Our team analyzed advertised rates across every U.S. state and major freelancing industry to identify the full scale of the freelancer pay gap in the U.S.
