The gender pay gap in the estate agency sector has widened significantly over the past five years, according to new analysis of official government data, raising concerns about pay equality in an industry where women represent a substantial portion of the workforce.
Female estate agency staff earned 28.7% less than their male counterparts in 2023-2024, marking a deterioration from the 24.7% gap recorded in 2020-2021, analysis by Parapet Intelligence reveals. The research examined gender pay gap returns from more than 25 of the largest residential and commercial real estate agencies.
Reversing earlier progress
The widening gap represents a reversal of earlier progress made by the sector. In 2017-2018, when companies were first required to report pay and bonus data to the government, the gap stood at 32.7%. By 2020-2021, this had narrowed to 24.7%, but the latest figures show much of that improvement has been undone.
The data reveals a particularly stark disparity in bonus payments. While 75% of women in estate agency received bonuses in 2023-2024, up from 63% in 2017-2018, these bonuses were on average 48.7% lower than those paid to men. The bonus gap has narrowed from 53.6% eight years ago, but remains substantial.
The proportion of men receiving bonuses stood at 78.9% last year, only marginally higher than women, suggesting that women are well-represented in senior roles that typically attract bonus structures, but are compensated at lower levels.
Industry implications
The findings come at a time when the property sector faces multiple challenges, including rising cyber security threats and evolving market dynamics. The widening pay gap may have implications for talent retention and recruitment in an industry that has seen significant structural changes in recent years.
Vikki Bennett, co-founder at Parapet Intelligence, said: “It’s scandalous really that we should witness progress when it’s politically convenient only to see much of that undone when it falls out of the news. Estate agency is an industry where plenty of women thrive but if there really were equal opportunities the gender pay gap would reflect that.”
Bennett added that the issue needs to remain “constantly under the microscope” and called for senior teams to recognise that “evenly diverse teams and more equal earnings belong to companies that are agile, competitive and stronger.”
The deterioration in pay equality metrics suggests that earlier initiatives to address gender pay disparities may not have been sustained, with the sector now facing renewed scrutiny over workplace equality practices.
