While some progress has been made to level the playing field for women in the workforce, there is still work to be done to close the gender wage gap. In the US, women earned $0.82 for every dollar men made in 2022, regardless of their industry or years of experience.
What about freelancers?
Work preferences have shifted dramatically in recent years, as many people — especially women — demand more control over their careers, schedules, and salaries. The ability to work flexibility and determine your own rates as a freelancer has provided major appeal for workers who have historically been disadvantaged in the corporate workforce.
In fact, data from Fiverr shows women on the platform out-earning their male counterparts — among global active Fiverr users who have disclosed their gender identity, women freelancers earned an average 15% more each month than men in 2022. This number has increased by at least a percentage point year-over-year since 2020.
Why more women are going freelance
Fiverr research in the US also revealed that women are behind much of the overall growth in the freelancer population. The percentage of women-identifying freelancers joining Fiverr is increasing every year, and there was notable growth in the percentage of women sellers in the post-covid restriction era compared to earlier years.
There are many talented women in the Fiverr community who have found success leveraging their talents to pursue freelance work. Jessica Herring offers video editing services on Fiverr and was able to build a flexible career freelancing full-time that allowed her to support her family. Nancy Haight similarly grew her freelance copywriting business on Fiverr, which gave her the flexibility to spend more time with her two kids.
Additionally, Fiverr’s research showed that women-identifying freelancers on Fiverr rely more on freelance work than their male peers — on Fiverr, freelancing makes up 57% of women’s income on average, compared to 48% of men’s. Wanting to have their own business (52%), wanting to work from home (48%), and lack of flexibility in their work schedule (34%) are the most cited reasons for starting to work independently. Women are more likely to be motivated to pursue freelancing for the flexibility it offers (41% versus 25% for men).
As the world of work evolves, we’ve seen freelancing emerge as an empowering option for workers eager to expand their opportunities and be their own boss. Fostering new, innovative ways of working is one of many key steps to establishing equity in the workplace and accelerating the careers of talented women around the world.
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