Research has identified the top cities for women in marketing across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The study by B2B marketplace Sortlist analysed cities with populations over 50,000, examining regional gender pay gaps for roles under the profession, ‘Sales, Marketing and Related Associate Professionals’, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
These figures were collated with findings from an analysis of Glassdoor, which revealed marketing job availability and average marketing salaries for each location. This created a comprehensive ranking of the most favourable locations for women in the marketing industry.
Table: The top 10 cities for women in marketing
|
Rank |
City |
Region |
Profession-Specific Gender Gap (Source: ONS) |
Average Marketing Salary (Source: Glassdoor) |
Jobs per 100,000 Population (Source: Glassdoor) |
Index Score (/100) |
|
1 |
London |
London |
12.2% |
£38,634.89 |
14.26 |
93.43 |
|
2 |
Durham |
North East |
13.8% |
£32,386.24* |
20 |
85.26 |
|
3 |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
North East |
13.8% |
£32,386.24* |
9.76 |
77.85 |
|
4 |
Sunderland |
North East |
13.8% |
£32,386.24* |
5.35 |
71.57 |
|
5 |
Lincoln |
East Midlands |
15.3% |
£32,386.24* |
7.1 |
68.28 |
|
6 |
St Albans |
East |
16.1% |
£32,386.24* |
21.18 |
68.04 |
|
7 |
Bath |
South West |
15.3% |
£24,644.03 |
17.01 |
66.91 |
|
8 |
Derby |
East Midlands |
15.3% |
£34,362.43 |
5.21 |
65.85 |
|
9 |
Newport |
Wales |
15.3% |
£32,386.24* |
5.35 |
65.19 |
|
10 |
Bristol |
South West |
15.3% |
£24,644.03 |
8.71 |
62.78 |
*For cities that lack average marketing salary data, the UK average for marketing (£32,386.24) was used in its place.
**Full national ranking included at the end.
London secured the top position with the lowest regional gender pay gap at 12.2% nationwide, and the highest average marketing salary of £38,634.89. This combination of salary potential and relative pay equality makes the Capital significantly more attractive for female marketing professionals, along with its prominence in international business.
Durham achieved second place, benefiting from the North East’s relatively lower gender pay gap of 13.8% and strong job availability per capita. Despite being one of the smaller cities on the list, it recorded 20 marketing jobs per 100,000 residents, which was identified as the second-highest concentration in the study.
Third is Newcastle upon Tyne, sharing the region’s relatively low gender pay gap of 13.8%. This suggests that the North East offers better gender pay equality in marketing compared to many other regions.
Sunderland placed fourth on the list, making the North East the only region with three cities in the top ten. This reinforces the region’s strong position for women in marketing, despite having lower average salaries than London.
Lincoln ranked fifth, with the findings revealing that the city benefits from a mid-range gender pay gap of 15.3% and job availability of 7.1 marketing positions per 100,000 residents.
Hertfordshire’s St Albans took sixth place, despite the East region having a higher gender gap of 16.1%. The city compensated with exceptional job availability of 21.18 positions per 100,000 residents, which is the highest rate nationwide.
Bath ranked seventh, despite having the lowest average marketing salary in the top ten at just £24,644.03. The city’s performance was bolstered by the South West’s moderate gender gap of 15.3% and strong job availability at 17.01 marketing jobs listed on Glassdoor per 100,000 population, at the time of analysis.
Derby secured eighth place, offering a solid average salary of £34,362.43, which is the second highest among the cities in the top ten, second only to London. This makes it an attractive option for women seeking both a higher likelihood of pay equality and good earning potential outside of the Capital.
Newport ranked ninth, placing as the only Welsh city among the top ten best cities for women in marketing. The city benefits from Wales’ moderate gender gap of 15.3%, though job availability was revealed to be more limited at 5.35 positions per 100,000 residents.
Bristol completed the top ten, offering good job availability with 51 positions available, translating to 8.71 per 100,000 residents. However, its average salary of £24,644.03 matches Bath as the lowest in the top rankings.
Manchester, despite being a major marketing hub with 18.51 available jobs per 100,000 people and an average salary of just under £34,000, ranked just 16th due to the North West’s high gender pay gap of 20.3%, according to regional ONS figures.
Scottish cities were revealed to rank low overall. Edinburgh was revealed to rank 45th overall, despite having the second-highest average marketing salary identified in the study at £35,747, second only to London. While Dunfermline, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee all placed in the bottom 15 cities, with Dundee ranking in the lowest spot, according to the study.
The main factor behind Scotland’s poor performance is the highest regional gender pay gap at 26%, more than double London’s 12.2%.
Several South East locations also ranked among some of the toughest cities for women in marketing, with cities like Canterbury, Brighton, and Oxford all ranking in the bottom 20 positions due to the region’s substantial 25.2% gender pay gap, which is the second-highest rate nationally.
Alesia Pop, SEO Manager at Sortlist, commented:
“The data clearly shows that the gender pay gap remains a hugely significant factor affecting women’s career prospects in marketing across the country. The regional disparities are quite shocking, with a difference of nearly 14 percentage points between the best and worst performing areas.
“However, the fact remains that the lowest average gender pay gap in the country was found to be 12.2% amongst marketing professionals, which highlights the continuing need for efforts in bridging this gap within the industry.
“From our findings, women considering where to build their marketing careers should perhaps look beyond just salary figures and job numbers. The North East emerges as a particularly promising region, with its combination of a lower gender pay gap and reasonable job availability creating better overall conditions for women in the industry.
“What’s especially notable is how poorly Scotland performs across the board, despite offering competitive salaries. Not a single Scottish city makes it into the top 40, with Edinburgh at 45th being the best performer. This highlights that addressing the gender pay gap needs to be a priority for employers and policymakers in the region if they want to attract and retain top marketing talent.”