Male marketing directors earn as much as 18 per cent more than women with the same job title, according to a new survey of salaries in the sector.

The study, by recruitment firm Alternatives Group and the Marketing Institute of Ireland, suggests that pay for marketing professionals has climbed by an average of 5 per cent in the past year, with bonuses back in vogue.

However, at senior level, a gender pay gap persists. Male marketing directors earn an average salary of €138,000, while female marketing directors earn €117,000.

At head of marketing level, average male earnings were found to be €108,000, or 8 per cent more than average female earnings, while male managers earned €74,000, or 9 per cent more than women in similar positions.

Junior positions

In more junior marketing positions, women earned 2-12 per cent more than men, the survey of more than 1,000 marketers found.

Some 53 per cent of respondents reported that their salaries have increased in the last year, while some 83 per cent were in permanent, full-time employment.

Bonuses are once again “well embedded” as a means of rewarding employees in the sector, with 73 per cent of marketing directors and heads of marketing receiving between 10-30 per cent of their salary as a bonus.

A further 10 per cent get more than 30 per cent as a bonus, while 4 per cent were found to be eligible for bonuses greater than their salaries.

However, only 54 per cent said they thought their companies’ future trading performance would improve, compared to the 69 per cent who were optimistic that it would in the 2015 survey.

Brexit implications

Marketers in the fast-moving consumer goods, pharma and utilities sectors were less confident about the future than those in IT, professional services, retail, ecommerce and agri sectors.

"While confidence has returned to the industry, Brexit and its implications cast a long shadow for future economic prospects," said Alternatives Group managing director Charley Stoney.

The survey, the third of its kind, points to where some of the most lucrative jobs in Irish marketing might be found.

Heads of marketing in the telecoms sector, for example, can expect to earn €152,000, while marketing directors in retail and commercial directors in the IT/tech sector can take home €150,000.