C&M Report Shows Record Gender Pay Gap in 2025 Travel Jobs

The gender pay gap across the UK travel industry has widened to a record level in 2025, according to new analysis from C&M Travel Recruitment that points to growing disparities at the top of the pay scale even as entry and mid-level roles move closer to parity.

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Record Gender Pay Split Emerges in 2025 Survey

C&M Travel Recruitment’s latest salary survey for 2025 indicates that the overall gap between what men and women earn in UK travel has reached its widest point since the company began tracking figures more than a decade ago. While C&M has reported fluctuations in the gap in previous years, the 2025 results show a marked step up in the scale of difference.

Publicly available information on earlier C&M surveys shows the average woman working in travel earned around 11 percent less than her male counterpart in 2023, itself a slight improvement on 2022 after several volatile post-pandemic years. The new 2025 analysis suggests that the direction has now reversed, with women’s average earnings falling further behind men’s as high-paying roles tilt more heavily towards male employees.

The figures are based on placements and salary data across a wide range of UK travel businesses, from leisure and corporate agencies to tour operators and specialist firms. Although the survey focuses on the UK market, the findings arrive amid a broader international discussion about pay equity and representation in travel and tourism, particularly in senior and board-level positions.

Reports from travel technology and corporate travel companies in recent months have already highlighted persistent gaps in leadership demographics, with women significantly underrepresented in the highest paid roles. The C&M data adds a detailed pay-focused view to that picture, underscoring that even where women are numerically dominant in the workforce, they are not capturing a proportional share of the highest salaries.

Executive Roles Drive the Gap to New Highs

As in previous years, the 2025 C&M survey indicates that the headline gender pay gap is being driven primarily by pay differences in executive and director-level positions. Earlier datasets from the recruiter showed the gap for executive roles paying 40,000 pounds and above widening sharply in 2023, even when the overall industry gap narrowed slightly. The new 2025 figures suggest that divergence has intensified.

According to the latest analysis, the majority of the very highest salaried roles in travel continue to be awarded to men, and the average male salary in these bands is rising faster than the average female salary. This creates a pronounced skew at the top end of the market, which then pulls up the overall gender pay gap across the sector even where lower bands show a more balanced picture.

Gender pay reports from individual travel and travel management companies for the current reporting year also point to similar dynamics. Several large UK-based corporate travel specialists describe a high proportion of women in client-facing and support roles clustered in the lower and middle quartiles of pay, while men are more likely to appear in the upper quartile and in bonus-eligible leadership positions.

Industry commentators say this pattern reflects a long-standing split between customer service and operational roles, which tend to attract female applicants, and commercial, technology or senior management posts, which have historically been male dominated. The 2025 C&M findings indicate that, at least for now, this structural divide is still being translated directly into pay outcomes.

Parity Emerging at Entry, Mid and Senior Non-Executive Levels

In contrast to the stark picture at the very top of the pay scale, the C&M survey suggests that entry-level, mid-level and many senior non-executive travel roles are showing far smaller differences in average pay between men and women. Earlier reports from the recruiter for 2023 pointed to near parity, with gaps of less than 1 percent in some bands, and initial indications for 2025 suggest that trend has largely held.

For mid-level positions, typically covering jobs in the low to high twenties in terms of annual salary in pounds, C&M’s historic figures have even shown women out-earning men on average by a small margin. A similar pattern has been reported in some entry-level categories, reflecting a market where starting salaries are often fixed and set by role rather than influenced by individual negotiation.

Senior roles outside the executive tier, such as team leaders, account managers and experienced consultants, also appear to be moving closer to parity as travel businesses standardise pay bands and expand pay transparency. Industry research on wider pay practices indicates that more employers in travel and related services are publishing ranges for key roles and reviewing their structures to address pay equity concerns.

However, the 2025 C&M report suggests that equal or near-equal pay at these levels has not yet translated into equal access to the most lucrative jobs. Women continue to occupy a majority of many front-line and mid-tier positions in travel, helping to sustain the overall workforce, but their progression into top-paying executive posts remains comparatively limited, and the pay gap at that level outweighs improvements further down the ladder.

Industry Context: Pay Transparency and Leadership Pipelines

The widening gender pay gap revealed in the 2025 C&M analysis comes at a time when employers across sectors are under growing pressure to increase transparency around compensation and to demonstrate progress on diversity. Surveys of North American and European employers over the past two years indicate that many have introduced formal pay transparency policies or are preparing to do so, often in response to regulation and employee expectations.

Within travel, a number of tour operators, airline groups and travel management companies have published gender pay gap reports that highlight both advances and persistent challenges. Several organisations describe strong female representation overall but lower proportions of women in the highest pay quartile, often linked to the distribution of commercial, technology and C-suite roles.

Specialist research into travel technology and business travel has reached similar conclusions, noting that women hold a minority of executive leadership positions globally despite slow gains over recent years. Analysts suggest that barriers range from limited sponsorship and access to profit-and-loss responsibilities to the impact of career breaks and flexible working patterns in a sector that traditionally rewards long hours and frequent travel.

Pay experts say that as travel companies rebuild after the pandemic and adapt to new demand patterns, there is an opportunity to redesign roles and career paths with equity in mind. The 2025 C&M findings indicate that without deliberate action, however, the rebound in demand and the growing value of senior commercial posts may simply entrench or widen existing gaps in top-level pay.

What the 2025 Findings Mean for Travel Employers and Staff

The record gender pay split reported by C&M for 2025 is likely to intensify scrutiny of hiring, promotion and reward practices across the travel sector. While the data points to encouraging signs of parity at many junior and mid-level grades, it also suggests that efforts to address the imbalance at executive level have not yet had a meaningful impact.

For travel employers, the results may prompt renewed focus on how high-potential employees are identified and developed, which roles are considered stepping stones to leadership, and how pay decisions are structured and communicated. Industry pay research indicates that clear criteria for progression, regular review of starting offers and greater openness about bonus and commission structures can all help to limit unintentional bias.

For employees, particularly women looking to progress into senior roles, the 2025 figures underline the importance of understanding how pay is set within their organisation and how responsibilities shift as roles become more senior. Career advisers in the sector note that experience in revenue-generating or technology-led functions is often a prerequisite for the highest paid positions, and that building this profile early can improve long-term earning potential.

As the travel industry continues to grapple with talent shortages, evolving customer expectations and the drive towards more sustainable operations, the C&M report signals that achieving genuine gender pay equity remains unfinished business. The latest data suggests that closing the gap at the very top of the industry will be central to whether future surveys show the record split of 2025 as a turning point or the start of a new, more entrenched phase of inequality.