The freelance wage gap in Russia has widened, with women earning significantly less than men, according to Forbes reporting on a study by Solar Staff.
In 2023, female freelancers averaged 41 thousand rubles per month, which is 59% lower than their male counterparts. This gap has grown year over year: 2022 showed a 55% difference, and 2021 a 50% gap. These figures highlight a persistent disparity in earnings across the freelance economy in Russia, even as the overall project market grows.
Analysts point to long-standing divisions in the labor market as a primary driver of the wage gap. Traditional roles assigned to men and women influence the distribution of freelance work. For instance, among women freelancers, a larger share of projects tend to be in design and photography, roles that typically pay less per project than programming tasks. This structural split helps explain why hourly or per-project earnings for women can lag behind those of men across several fields.
Looking across sectors, men consistently earn more than women, though the degree of the gap varies. In information technology, the disparity is especially pronounced, with men earning an average of 38.6% more than women. For the same period, the typical monthly income sits around 235,000 rubles for men versus 169,500 rubles for women. In the design field, the gap hovers around 30%, with typical earnings of 102,700 rubles for men and 79,000 rubles for women. Marketing shows a roughly 23% difference, with men earning about 151,000 rubles and women about 122,000 rubles per month on average.
Project management also reflects a wage delta, though the difference is smaller. The minimum wage gap noted was about 13.5%, with men earning around 134,000 rubles and women about 152,000 rubles in some segments. Such variations illustrate how wage structures can diverge not only by industry but by the type of freelance engagement and the market demand for specific skill sets.
Earlier conversations among Russian students touched on the concept of a “dream salary,” reflecting hopes and expectations about earnings in the freelance economy. These discussions reveal how perceptions of what constitutes fair compensation have evolved in a market increasingly driven by independent work rather than traditional employment. The trend toward more transparent compensation itself suggests hope for changes that could reduce the wage gap over time.
Generally, there is a push within the freelance community to move away from practices such as accepting salaries paid in envelopes, a practice historically associated with informal or unreported income. The shift toward formalized payment methods and clearer rate definitions is part of a broader effort to improve wage transparency, fair compensation, and work conditions for all freelancers in Russia. This evolving landscape remains under close study by economists and industry analysts, who continue to monitor how policy changes, market demand, and shifting gender norms might narrow or reshape this gap in the years ahead. At present, the data indicate a meaningful divergence in earnings by gender across multiple freelance sectors, underscoring the ongoing conversation about equality and opportunity in the gig economy.