Gender Pay Gap on Instagram

We’ve all heard of the gender pay gap, and we all like to think that it is being left behind and forgotten as we evolve and shift to modern industries. This however, is definitely not the case as latest research shows that the gender pay gap is very much still a thing among influencers.

An instagram influencer analytics company called HypeAuditor has discovered that there is a difference between how much influencers get paid depending on whether they identify as male or female. Results show that on average, male instagram influencers get paid more than female influencers. The gap is even larger among influencers with a higher audience tiers. The report was split into 4 separate categories (Hutchinson, 2020).

When it comes to analysing Instagram posts, it was found that there is a 7% difference in earnings between male and female influencers as shown below.

The pay gap recorded is even higher when it comes to Instagram stories. This, however, can be observed to vary throughout the different tiers of followers as in the range between 5k to 20k the gap seems to be dominated by females as shown below.

The differences in pay is even greater in the final category which combines post, story, and video together to analyse the presence go the gender pay gap on Instagram in general as seen in the data below.

This is more evident within Instagram workout gurus which is one of the categories which is mostly dominated by women. Even though statistics show that 42 of the top 50 workout influencers are female, the highest paid is 31 year old Joe Wicks, known as ‘The Body Coach’, ranking number 21 when it comes to Instagram followers. The gender pay gap is very clear among these ‘fitsagrammers’ as Wicks makes thrice more than the highest ranking workout influencer in terms of followers who is a woman. Its estimated that Wicks makes around 33,000 British pounds per day.

The top earning female workout influencer is Sommer Ray, having around 16.9 million followers with an average of 500,000 likes per post. The research stated that she is able to make around 20,000 British pounds per post, and would make an additional 4 million British pounds per year per sponsorship. Although you might be thinking that she makes crazy amount of money, it is only a third of what Wicks is able to make (Carroll, n.d.).

When one looks at the gender pay gap and how it varies between the different platforms, the highest gender pay gap exists in YouTube with a 38% difference between men and women (Gesenhues, 2019).

It is interesting to note that as of yet, there are no set rules and regulations regarding what the appropriate payment for influencer marketing should be. When one gives this some thinking, one might realise how this might be the most concerning part of it all. It makes you wonder why in the absence of defined industry standards, we still discriminate between genders. Perhaps the ideology of gender discrimination is so intertwined with every advert we view, movie we watch, or norms we practice, that despite all of the awareness there is to eliminate them, they are still inherently ingrained into our minds and have become instinctive (Hutchinson, 2020).

This only fuels a need for further change when it comes to the gender pay gap and whilst some argue that there is a higher demand for male influencers in an industry which is dominated by females, the fact that the pay gap has been a pressing issue for females for decades still remains. Sadly, even in a relatively modernised industry, if you’re a female influencer, chances are that you make 23% less than your male equivalent, and that most of your requests are rooted to objectification. Let’s take action.

Author: Thomas Camilleri

This blog is a a project for a study unit: MCS3953, University of Malta.

References:

Carroll, L., n.d. Here’S How Instagram Is No Stranger To The Gender Pay Gap | Her.Ie. [online] Her.ie. Available at: <https://www.her.ie/news/heres-instagram-no-stranger-gender-pay-gap-368650> [Accessed 18 January 2021].

Gesenhues, A., 2019. Women Make Up Majority Of Influencer Community, Still Earn Less Than Male Influencers. [online] Marketing Land. Available at: <https://marketingland.com/women-make-up-majority-of-influencer-community-earn-less-than-male-influencers-262193> [Accessed 18 January 2021].

Hutchinson, A., 2020. New Report Finds Pay Gap Disparity Between Male And Female Influencers On Instagram. [online] Social Media Today. Available at: <https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/new-report-finds-pay-gap-disparity-between-male-and-female-influencers-on-i/570244/> [Accessed 18 January 2021].