FMCG named as the best sector for marketing salaries

If you’re a marketer looking to boost your salary this year, you might want to consider a move into FMCG.

According to the latest Marketing Week Career and Salary Survey, the FMCG sector offers the best pay for marketers across a range of roles.

Looking at pay across 24 different sectors, the survey showed that FMCG comes out on top in terms of marketing pay with a mean salary of £63,916, closely followed by the gaming and gambling and health and pharmaceuticals sectors.

At the other end of the scale, the education sector offers an average marketing salary of £44,424, followed by the construction and property, and charity/not-for-profit sectors.

In terms of the scale of pay you can expect from a career in marketing, salaries run from an average of £26,599 for a marketing executive to £98,852 for a director or vice-president of marketing role.

This research highlights the significant inconsistencies in average marketing pay between the different sectors, as well as the gender pay gap as people work their way up the career ladder.

Female marketers continue to be victims of the industry’s inability to address the gender bias. Marketing Week’s survey reveals an overall mean gender pay gap of 28% for full-time workers in marketing. Compared to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), this figure is significantly higher than the UK’s national gender pay gap of 8.9%.

The overall pay gap figure was used by the Fawcett Society to calculate that last year’s Equal Pay Day on 17th November. This is the day when women’s salaries effectively become redundant, as they work the rest of the year ‘for free’ as a result of the gender pay gap.

Diving deeper into the ONS data we see that female marketing and sales directors earn 11% less than their male counterparts. Women hold 28% of marketing and sales directors jobs and earn £68,770 a year. By comparison, men in the same role earn £80,051.

In terms of which sectors are guilty of having the biggest gender pay gaps, the charity and not-for-profit sector has the highest at 48%. Doing much better – but still with a long way to go – is the sports sector with a gender pay gap of 14% (the lowest of all sectors in the report).

While these figures still show that there’s clearly more work to do when it comes to gender pay equality, it shows that things are moving in the right direction. Companies are also recognising the impact that gender pay gaps have on hiring and their ability to retain the top marketing talent.

Are you starting to wonder how your salary stacks up against the rest of the industry? Come and chat to the team at Stopgap today. We have lots of experience in placing marketing candidates in the FMCG sector and beyond.

Plus, it’s important to remember that, while money is still important, it’s only one of a number of things to consider when looking for your next opportunity. Flexible working, professional development and subsidised health benefits can all work alongside salary to add up to your perfect role.

If you're looking for your next marketing role, register with us today or give us a call -  020 8332 7656