Men vs. Women – The Pay Gap is Real

MBS Advisors and SPE have been conducting an annual salary survey for plastics professionals for many years now. One of the factors that we look at is the difference in pay by gender. Does that old adage, “Women get paid less than men for the same work,” ring true in our industry? Are women less likely to make their way up the corporate ladder in the plastics industry?

According to our survey, on average, men in the plastics and packaging industry made 31% more in total compensation last year than women did. Base salaries for men were 25% higher than for women. And, men on average, received a bonus(es) 65% higher than their female colleagues.

The average total compensation for men in the plastics and packaging industry was $140,739 and $107,356 for women.

Based on our survey, men are more likely to be classified as c-level or executive management, 12% of the men who took the survey fit that position level while only 3% of women who took our survey did. Men are also more likely to manage employees than women. 48% for males and 32% for females.

As of right now, it certainly appears that men are winning the salary race. Something very important to note is that we had far more male participants in this survey than female participants. We hope in the future this number goes up considerably. For now, Plastics and Packaging is still a male-dominated industry.

*Our salary survey looks at participants’ salaries for the previous year. Hence, the 2020 survey analyzes participant’s salaries during the 2019 calendar year. All participation in the survey was completely voluntary.