As the demand for women in these professions rises, Magnet Trade’s analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data and insights from The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of gender pay disparity in self-employed trade professions across the UK.
Magnet Trade’s data found that, with women earning 43% less than men in self-employed jobs, estimates show that, for trade jobs, men charge £7 more an hour on average than women. In terms of the hourly rate, on average, this is £23 for self-employed men compared to £16 for women.
Across all industry trades, men earn an average of £700K more across a working lifetime compared to women.
£14k difference in pay for women
When looking at just one year, men earn £14K more compared to women in the self-employed trade industry. Therefore, self-employed tradeswomen must work five extra months per year to match a man’s salary across trade roles.
Top ten self-employed trades with the largest gender pay gaps
| Ranking | Trade | Male hourly rates | Female hourly rates | Hourly gender pay gap |
| 1 | Electrician | £26.51 | £18.54 | £7.97 |
| 2 | Plumbing | £25.88 | £18.10 | £7.78 |
| 3 | Joinery | £25.73 | £17.99 | £7.74 |
| 4 | Insulation | £24.12 | £16.86 | £7.25 |
| 5 | General construction | £23.65 | £16.54 | £7.11 |
| 6 | Bricklaying | £23.37 | £16.34 | £7.03 |
| 7 | Painter and decorator | £23.31 | £16.30 | £7.01 |
| 8 | Steel and timber frame erection | £22.19 | £15.52 | £6.67 |
| 9 | Surfacing contractors | £21.85 | £15.28 | £6.57 |
| 10 | Specialist trades | £21.60 | £15.10 | £6.49 |
Electricians have the biggest hourly gender pay gap at £7.97
Magnet Trade’s report reveals self-employed electricians have the biggest hourly gender pay gap, with women only charging £18.54 compared to £26.51 for men on average. This means that male electricians earn, on average, £16,583 more than women in a year.
An average electrician’s weekly salary, according to Hudson Contract, is £1,055, which is just over £50,000 a year. Due to increased demand for jobs, electricians can charge more, meaning their wage is above the UK average.
Plumbers have the second-highest gender pay gap
Plumbers rank as the trade with the second-largest gender pay gap within the industry. Plumbers have one of the highest average trade salaries, earning on average £53,824 a year. However, the pay gap between genders is also very high, with females earning £18.10 compared to males £25.88 an hour. This equates to a loss of over £16,182 a year for women in the plumbing trade compared to their male counterparts.
Joiners have the third most significant gender page gap, equating to a loss of £16,099 a year for female joiners compared to men in the same trade. When looking at the hourly rate for joiners, men earn on average £25.73, whereas women in the same position only earn £17.99 per hour.
