Its research showed that the average male chef salary of those who registered with the recruitment agency in 2017 was 14% higher than the average annual pay for a female chef. This equated to men earning £3,598 more per annum than women.
The gap was closer in front of house pay where the average male salary was 9% higher than that of women, or £2,738 more per year. Other recent research by the agency showed that female chefs would outnumber their male counterparts in the next five years.
“There is progress being made in terms of gender equality in hospitality. The data shows that there is more work to be done in order to ensure women are rewarded equally to men for doing the same job,” said Craig Allen, founder and director of The Change Group.
“Attracting and retaining talent continues to be a major priority for the hospitality industry. It’s time to recognise that women can play a part in helping us to address the talent gap. Rewarding women properly is key to attracting and keeping them in the industry.”
The research mirrors that of software company Fourth last week that revealed that men in the hospitality sector are paid 14p more an hour than women. It said the gender gap was driven by the male bias of workers in the kitchen and back-of-house roles, who are typically paid a higher hourly rate.
This is versus a female bias in the front-of-house roles, where workers had the opportunity to top up their daily hourly rate through customer tips.
Last month experts told The Morning Advertiser that unskilled and untrained chefs must be targeted by the trade and educated to solve the worsening recruitment crisis. Job specifications for kitchen staff must be changed to attract those without the necessary skills to work in pubs Recruitment and Employment Confederation chief executive Kevin Green urged licensees.