Gender pay gaps and emerging technology roles highlight the 2024 Salary Guide for marketing, creative, and design professionals recently released by Aquent. Based on more than 21,000 salaries and paired with the work-solutions company's 2023 Talent Insights Report, it provides an opportunity for companies to examine how to build high-performing teams and fairly compensate them.
"The workplace has been rapidly evolving — from where and how we work to the technology we use, and even the roles themselves. Aquent's 2024 Salary Guide gives us an important pulse check on the industry and helps us anticipate what's to come," John H. Chuang, the company's founder and CEO, said in a statement.
In 2023, Aquent's salary data showed a shrinking gender wage gap within marketing, creative, and design fields, but this year's findings show that female workers earn 90% of what their male counterparts earn — a wage gap of 10%.
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"These findings aren't what we hope to see and represent an opportunity for improvement," said Rohshann Pilla, president of Aquent Talent. "Progress is nonlinear. Still, industry leaders should take these findings as proof that true equity requires constant, persistent work. Companies that are committed to true pay equity should see this as a galvanizing moment to push forward with their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts."
High-demand roles and shifting geographies
With the advancement of generative AI and immersive technologies like ChatGPT and Midjourney, there are endless opportunities across every industry, Aquent officials said. And as the world of technology and how people do business changes, so do the roles needed to power that new future.
Aquent's data suggests the future-facing roles set to shape the job market are in design, engineering, and operations. Demand for many of these roles has grown by more than 20% in the past year and include concept artist (median salary: $166,400), AR/XR/VR engineer (median salary: $287,040), and AI content moderator/auditor (median salary: $62,400).
The 2024 Salary Guide data also confirms that location still matters when it comes to compensation. As companies continue to reinvent the workplace, and remote/hybrid work options make the talent pool more competitive, key geographic findings can be instructive. For example, some companies now mandate that more than 90% of employees must live within commuting distance of the office.
Additionally, salaries in City Group 1 (New York, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley) gained 5.5% on average, more than double that in other City Groups. And the median salary between the lowest and highest cost-of-living City Groups differed by 27.5%, or $28,000. Last year, that difference was 24.5%, or $24,000.
"Our comprehensive review … reveals both the progress that the industry is making and the work left to do," Chuang said. "We must use this guide to build a roadmap for a thriving, innovative and inclusive creative, marketing, and design world."
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