The Freelance Pay Gap Is Closing—and Recruiters Are Missing Why

[bonk]

For the first time, the gender pay gap has effectively disappeared among self-employed professionals in the Netherlands—and in some cases, reversed.

According to CBS data cited by NL Times, women now earn €25.90 per hour on average, compared to €25.10 for men, despite making up just 38% of the self-employed workforce. Before 2020, men earned roughly 10% more per hour. That gap vanished after the pandemic.

The reason is simple: market forces. Freelancers aren’t bound by internal pay scales or negotiation biases. Rates are driven by scarcity and demand. As HeadFirst Group CEO Marion van Happen explains, when talent is scarce, pricing power follows—regardless of gender.

Yet recruiters remain stuck in old habits. Independent men are approached about 19 times a year, compared to 15 for women, largely because men are more likely to work full-time and dominate platforms like LinkedIn. That bias is costing companies access to the most effective talent pool.

While the UK’s salaried workforce still shows a gender pay gap of 6.9%, the freelance economy is pointing toward a different future—one where performance, not perception, determines pay. For organisations planning growth beyond 2025, the message is clear: follow the data, not gut instinct.

[kevin1]

lol recruiters still stuck hitting up men more often, they’re literally leaving money on the table