Some Gains for Women
Women’s share of all publishing jobs rose
in 2016, and the pay gap with men closed
slightly
JIM MILLIOT
Women increased their presence in pub- lishing in 2016. Of the 521 respondents to PW’s annual salary and jobs survey of employees who work at publishing com- panies, women accounted for 80% last
year, up from 74% in 2015.
The increase in women’s share of the industry workforce is
not a surprise: for the past several years, the PW survey has
found that women are joining the industry at a much faster rate
than men. Indeed, in 2016, 85% of respondents with under
three years’ experience in publishing were women.
The survey found women accounted for 89% of all editorial
jobs last year, up from 84% in 2015, and 82% of sales and
marketing positions, compared to 73% in 2015. In operations
and production, 79% of respondents were women, up from
67%. It was only in management that women’s share of jobs
fell, from 54% in 2015 to 49%.
Managerial positions have traditionally been the highest-paying jobs in the industry, and that was true again in 2016,
with the average salary at $129,000. The median salary for men
in management was $127,000—$10,000 higher than the
median for women. Men also reported higher salaries than
women in sales and marketing and operations and
production.
The only area in which the median salary of female respondents was higher than that of male respondents was in editorial;
there, women averaged $1,000 more than men. Across all job
functions, the median salary was $93,000 for men and $65,000
Job Types by Gender
Editorial
Sales/
Marketing
Operations/
Production
Management
89%
11%
82%
18%
79%
21%
49%
51%
Female Male
Years in the Publishing Industry
Under 3 years
3–6. 9 years
7–10. 9 years
11–20. 9 years
More than
20 years
6%
9%
10%
24%
12%
18%
30%
29%
43%
20%
FemaleMale
Total Compensation
2016 2015
Under $40,000 15% 19%
$40,000–$59,999 27% 27%
$60,000–$79,999 19% 18%
$80,000–$99,999 12% 12%
$100,000–$149,999 17% 15%
$150,000 or more 10% 9%
