Women in Contracting

For the first time since the start of this report five years ago women in independent professional roles are out-earning their male counterparts. The average daily rate for females was €565 while the average daily rate for males was €548. The daily rate for male contractors fell by €30 from €578 in 2024 to €548 in 2025, while the daily rate for females increased by €10 in the same period.

However, it not all good news our survey shows that the age of the female contractor will also have an impact on her average daily rate. Women aged between 30-49 years have a higher daily pay rate than males of a similar age, however younger and older women are paid less than their counterparts, while female contractors aged 50-59 years earn the same daily rate as male contractors.

Female average annual earnings were at €114,705 and male average annual earnings were at €119,069. This reflects a drop in average annual earnings of 6% for female contractors and 8% for male contractors since 2024 report. Women work less days per annum than men which explains why their annual earnings are lower despite the fact that their average daily rate is higher.

In terms of average annual earnings this year’s survey findings show more progress has been made in the reduction of the gender pay gap in the contracting sector. The gender pay gap has moved from 15% in 2022, to 9.5% in 2023 to 6% in 2024 to this year where the gap is reduced to 3.6%! According to the CSO 2023 data, Ireland’s labour market gender pay gap was 6.9%. The fact that a smaller gender pay gap exists in the contracting sector compared to the Irish labour market, suggests that people are finally being paid for their skills, expertise and experience regardless of gender.

In 2025, the majority of both male and female contractors expressed a strong intention to continue working as independent professionals, with figures showing a significant increase since 2024. The percentage of female contractors planning to remain in contracting rose from 62% in 2024 to 76% in 2025, while male contractors saw an even sharper rise from 54% in 2024 to 82% in 2025.

The data also highlights that more women are voluntarily choosing self-employment, with 81% of female contractors making this choice in 2025 compared to 76% of male contractors.

These findings suggest a growing confidence in contracting as a career choice, particularly among men, whose intent to continue has increased significantly.

Both female and male contractors show relatively high levels of well-being, which is indicated by the low levels of perceived loneliness at 20% for female and 23% for male contractors. Loneliness has decreased for females from 30% in 2024 and increased slightly for men from 22% in 2024. Both males and females report low levels of burnout, with females experiencing slightly higher burnout levels at 14% compared to males at 13%.