Gender Pay Gap in the Early-Stage Careers of Canadian Creative Workers

Despite the existence of a number of studies analysing the gender pay gap in the job market as a whole, less is known about this issue in cultural and creative markets, in which the employment conditions lack stability, and many of the jobs are “hidden” because of part-time, unpaid, and/or portfolio work conditions. These characteristics are expected to be exacerbated in the early stages of careers so that, in this case, the gender pay gap might display specific singularities. This paper specifically investigates this issue by analysing data from the “Young People Making a Living in the Creative Industries” research project, a survey conducted from April to September 2016 in Canada. The results confirm the existence of a gender pay gap, but in a totally unexpected way.