‘Who’s in the room?’: Urgency needed to fix marketing’s socio-economic pay gap

The fact that progress on closing marketing’s socio-economic pay gap has stalled comes as no surprise to Social Mobility Foundation CEO, Sarah Atkinson.

Marketing Week’s exclusive 2025 Career & Salary Survey reveals a socio-economic pay gap for full-time workers of 15.3%, flat on last year’s figure at 15.9%. Some 74% of the sample identify as middle class, up on the 70.1% figure reported last year.

The data also finds a socio-economic pay gap at every level of seniority, from marketing executives (24% pay gap), right through to CMOs/directors/vice-presidents (5%).

Marketing’s pay gap is a persistent, structural issue that won’t be addressed quickly or easily, says Atkinson, but change is needed for the health of the industry.

“That figure represents a skills gap, a progression gap that means some really good people are missing out and the industry is missing out on them. Some really good people are not achieving their full potential and the industry is missing out on that,” she states.

“It means you don’t have the best ideas in the room. That’s why we’ve got to see this gap as a long-term challenge that we need to respond to. It’s about who’s in the room? Who’s in the workplace? How do we harness talent better?”

It’s not tokenism, it’s actually the right thing to do for your brand, for your business and for society.

Martin George, WeAreHere

The number of brands cutting their diversity, equity and inclusion policies following the return of Donald Trump to the White House means it is harder to make the case for businesses to address their pay gaps. However, as Atkinson points out, ensuring marketing careers are accessible to people from all backgrounds is essential when it comes to attracting and retaining talent – which matters from entry level upwards.

“It’s about showing a young workforce, the workforce of the future, that you’re open to them, because whatever big push back there may be around DE&I, there is no doubt that a young workforce has expectations about opportunity and fairness from their employer,” she notes.

“We know that retaining and accessing talent and skills is normally the top problem businesses need to fix. Through that lens the urgency should be front and centre. This is an evidence-led issue that has never been about trying to talk about individual fairness at a kind of abstract level.”

The Marketing Academy Foundation CEO Lianre Robinson recognises the socio-economic pay gap is an area where businesses still aren’t pushing forward due to long established taboos around social class.

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“It’s not that any of these conversations [around pay gaps] are comfortable, but we’re definitely a lot less comfortable with [social class] and so you don’t see the kind of progress, or even the conversation that would lead to progress, because it’s not as publicly focused,” she explains.

“One of the key things that we can’t forget is that there is a lot of overlap, because as we know when we talk about social disparity that does have a lot of overlap in terms of ethnicity.”

Improving socio-economic diversity should be viewed with equal importance as addressing other barriers to inclusion, says Robinson, who encourages brands to view inequality through all lenses, gather the necessary data and take concrete action.

Setting an intention when asking for information on socio-economic background is a good starting point, she adds. Sharing best practice could help more businesses get this right.

“There are a lot of places in the industry that are doing really good work and what we’re possibly not as great at is sharing and role modelling, and learning from what’s working,” says Robinson.

Tangible change

If Marketing Week’s pay gap data can act as a call to action and catalyst for change, then there is some positivity to be taken from the numbers, says Martin George, co-founder of WeAreHere – the collective connecting under-represented young people with opportunities in marketing.

WeAreHere wants to showcase the work being done by organisations to promote social mobility and a culture of inclusivity, as well as highlighting talent already in the workplace who are adding “enormous value”. Recognising there won’t be a “solution overnight”, George is keen to see steady progress across the industry.

“There is some great work going on to support a philosophy and culture of inclusivity. If data like this puts more wind in the sales of those initiatives, then so be it,” he states. “That again is another positive, because there are brands doing great work.”

Whether a business is “values driven or value driven”, improving the socio-economic diversity of the workforce should be a topic on every marketing leader’s agenda, George argues. Starting from a “hard-nosed commercial perspective” around the problems businesses face, the imperative to commit to diversity is crystal clear.

It means you don’t have the best ideas in the room. That’s why we’ve got to see this gap as a long-term challenge that we need to respond to.

Sarah Atkinson, Social Mobility Foundation

“Broader perspectives and greater creativity. Better understanding of a customer base. Enhancing global market appeal. Avoiding unintentional bias and stereotypes. Improving brand reputation, both as a brand but also as an employer. Improving employee engagement and retention,” he states.

“That’s why this is such an important topic. It’s not tokenism, it’s actually the right thing to do for your brand, for your business and for society.”

George uses the example of Giffgaff, which he describes as having embraced a philosophy of diversity and inclusivity. The mobile network’s CEO and WeAreHere co-founder, Ash Schofield, helped curate an event last year which saw a cohort of Year 12 Professional Pathways students studying for a BTEC Extended Diploma in Business Studies attend a whole day event with the marketers at Giffgaff.

Having such case studies to share can make a real difference in winning over senior leadership.

“[Leadership might say] ‘Make it real for me. I get the principle but just show me some examples of brands that I know, brands that I respect, brands that are successful, that have really embraced it and how they did it,’” says George.

“Then they start to get it, learn from other brands and go on the same journey.”

‘Their opinions count’: Giffgaff on opening its doors to future marketing talent

Coupled with case studies and tangible examples, data helps make the issue real. To break down the barriers to opportunity, the Social Mobility Foundation is calling on the government to introduce mandatory socio-economic background reporting for all large employers.

The Co-op and Zurich are two organisations which have published their socio-economic pay gap data for the first time over the past 12 months – the first UK retailer and insurer to do so.

Atkinson would like to see more “pioneering organisations” sharing their data. Analysis enables businesses to identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the talent and skills gaps holding them back. She explains the likes of the Co-op and Zurich UK aren’t collecting socio-economic pay gap data for fun, but to “help them become stronger”.

Ultimately, having the numbers helps brands move beyond assumption to addressing what’s really happening within their business.

“Even though you know there are pay gaps in every sector in the economy, and even though we know the marketing industry has a pay gap, [the narrative is] we’re fine. We think we’re somehow different,” she says.

“But you know that’s not true. What you’re doing if you don’t have this data is you’re suffering from the effects of these problems without taking it into your own hands.”

That is not the attitude of a forward-thinking business, argues Atkinson, who acknowledges that while pay gaps may get bigger before they get smaller, organisations invested for the long term will have a roadmap to move forward.

Marketing Week will be continuing our exclusive reporting from the 2025 Career & Salary Survey, including an analysis of in-demand skills and the changing face of recruitment.