These are the headline results from the bookcareers.com Salary Survey 2021
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All statistics are taken from the bookcareers.com Salary Survey 2021 and are the copyright of bookcareers.com. The full report, containing critical information for Employers, Human Resources, and all Recruiters is now on sale here.
Respondents completed an online form, between June and July 2021. The form was advertised to all those registered with bookcareers.com and the link circulated widely through all trade associations and across social media.
We received a total of 912 valid responses.
We really must thank everyone who responded and contributed to this data. Without your help and trust in us this survey would not be possible.
THE RESPONDENTS
In 2021 87.3% of respondents were Female, 10.6% were Male
1.2% identified as Non-Binary and 0.8% were Other or Preferred not to say.
In 2017 84.6% of respondents were Female, 15.2% were Male.
In 2013 81.8% of respondents were Female, 18.2% were Male
In 2008 82.9% of respondents were Female, 17.1% were Male
In 2004 78% of respondents were female, 22% were Male
AVERAGE SALARIES
The average overall salary was £34,049 up 6% on 2017 (£32,228).
This is the average of all full-time respondents earning between £18,000 and £90,000 p.a.
* The average starting salary is calculated on those who are 19-23 years old, who have been in the industry for less than a year and in their current job for less than a year.
* The average starting salary was £22,788 up 11% from £20,470 in 2017.
The disparity between entry-level pay and the average overall pay has grown again from 36.5% in 2017 to 49% in 2021. At its worst it was 61.2% in 2013 to In 2008 the percentage difference was 43.8%.
75.7% of the respondents are 35 years of age or younger, compared to 2017 when 76.3% of the respondents were 35 years of age or younger.
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DIVERSITY
This year we broke down the ethnicity of White respondents into White British, White European and White other and expanded other respondents.
69.3% of respondents identified as White British, 12.8% as White European and 7.4% of Any Other White Background.
So we can make direct comparisons, and to prevent individuals being recognised, we have grouped all ethnicities as in previous surveys, although we have more precise data to use going forward.
89.5% of all respondents classed themselves as White, compared to
90.4% of all respondents in 2017. In 2013, 93.7% of all respondents classed themselves as White. In 2008, where we first started collecting diversity data, the percentage of White was 90.7%, so 2021 marginally gives us our most diverse figure yet. It is a step in the right direction but shows that the hard work and campaigns by Employers, Creative Access and others must continue so that employees of publishers represent the way that society is today.
AVERAGE MALE V FEMALE SALARIES
Men are still being paid more than women, the current gender pay gap is 15% almost static from 2017 when the pay gap was 15.7%.
Even using weighted figures (not published) the same pay disparity was present. The survey results indicate that the gender pay gap is occurring because the majority of men tend to be employed in management or senior roles, and the majority of women appear to be in lower roles, which are paying less. Where men and women are performing equal roles, the gender pay gap is negligible, and in some cases women are getting paid more than their male counterparts.
In 2013 the gender pay gap was 16%, up slightly from 15.4% in 2008, but improved on 18.1% in 2004.
However, for an industry where 87.3% of respondents are women, it is disappointing that a gender pay gap occurs at all.
This is the first survey where we have collected Non-Binary salary details. The gender pay gap on Non-Binary v Male salaries stands at 39%. The number of respondents currently reporting Non-Binary is too small for us to publish any detailed analysis without individuals possibly being recognised. However, we will be monitoring this pay gap in future surveys.
These tables are all © bookcareers.com 2021. For permission to republish these tables, please contact online@bookcareers.com
If you’d like to support our research, please buy us a Ko-fi or please ask your employer to purchase a copy of the full report.
| Average salary by Gender | Female | Male | Percentage Difference F v M |
Non-Binary | Percentage Difference v NB v M |
| 2021 | £33,470 | £38,707 | 15.0% | £27,906 | 39% |
| 2017 | £31,336 | £37,199 | 15.7% | – | |
| 2013 | £27,832 | £32,299 | 16.0% | – | |
| 2008 | £24,234 | £27,973 | 15.4% | – | |
| 2004 | £23,035 | £27,209 | 18.1% | – | |
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| bookcareers.com Salary Survey 2021 Average Salary by Age |
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| bookcareers.com Salary Survey 2021 Average Salary by Size of Company |
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| bookcareers.com Salary Survey 2021 Average Salary by Area of Publishing |
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| bookcareers.com Salary Survey 2021 | |||
| Average Salaries of Selective Job Titles. A complete list appears in the full report along with background details, bonuses and additional data. |
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| 2021 | 2017 | % Change | |
| Editorial Assistant | £23,385 | £21,404 | 9% |
| Literary Agents Assistant/Agents Assistant | £27,431 | £21,700 | 26% |
| Rights Assistant | £23,967 | £22,433 | 7% |
| Marketing Assistant | £22,722 | £20,889 | 9% |
| Assistant Editor | £25,891 | £24,196 | 7% |
| Production Controller | £27,649 | £26,381 | 5% |
| Desk Editor/Copy Editor | £28,472 | £23,577 | 21% |
| Managing Editor | £36,723 | £33,377 | 10% |
| Commissioning Editor | £33,483 | £31,752 | 5% |
| Senior Commissioning Editor | £38,814 | £38,714 | 0% |
| Marketing Executive | £26,849 | £24,473 | 10% |
| Press Officer | £27,983 | £23,300 | 20% |
| Publicity Executive | £25,643 | £26,025 | -1% |
| Marketing Manager | £32,480 | £33,479 | -3% |
| Production Manager | £39,233 | £37,320 | 5% |
| Publicity Manager | £34,774 | £32,929 | 6% |
| Rights Manager | £33,359 | £35,721 | -7% |
| Sales Manager | £38,708 | £34,939 | 11% |
| Publisher | £48,330 | £54,643 | -12% |
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