Women Instagram Influencers Earn More Than Men

Women Instagram Influencers Earn More Than Men Knowing that the gender pay gap is alive and all too well, it comes as no surprise that recent headlines positioning women as actually earning mora than men in this one industry caught my eye. Whatever could this industry be? I wondered excitedly in the .3 seconds it took the article to load. Has there been a sudden reversal in the fortunes of women in tech? Perhaps women engineers have experienced a recent breakthrough, or maybe theres been an inexplicable rise in the demand for female prosthodontists?Imagine, then, how flat my face fell when I learned the artfully teased pro-woman industry at pranke was Instagram influencing. At least, thats the case in the U.K. A study conducted by marketing agency Influencer found that Insta-famous women are out-earning their male peers in the U.K. by more than 35 percent, thanks to better paid sponsored content and brand collaborations. According to the agencys data, a female influencer with at leas t 100,000 followers can earn up to 41,600 (or, about $53,300) for just two sponsored posts a week. Male influencers, on the other hand, earn on average only 31,200 (about $40,000) for the same efforts. Of course, theres no limit to the amount of sponsored content one can post weekly (look to the Kardashian Klan for proof of that), so its reasonable to say these earning estimates err on the demure side.Honestly, my take on the situation is a bit torn. On the one hand, its sad to think that the only industry where women are financially valued more than men is one largely centered on superficiality, particularly when it comes to womens looks (hello, fitspiration and transformationtuesday). More often than not, women whove reached Insta-fame reflect traditionally held and restrictive beauty norms (with the help of plenty of apps), and several studies have shown that women are more and more turning to social media as their body image benchmark (as opposed to TV, magazines, and billboards ). Its sad that a platform in many ways tied to womens reported rates of low self-esteem is the same platform thats financially rewarding us the most. On the other hand financial empowerment is still empowerment. According to this studys data, women influencers with a following of 100K and two sponsored posts a week are earning 50 percent more than the average salary of full-time employees in the U.K. When the countrys gender pay gap isnt estimated to close until 2041, can you really fault women for grabbing at prosperity where they can find it? Nope. Not really. (And of course, there are also plenty of rad, progressive, and diverse women doing cool things on Instagram and getting paid for it too.)What are your thoughts on this unusual, yet super well-paying gig for women? Leave a comment on our discussion boardFairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer