In the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM):


• Average UK salaries have risen by 13.1% to £51,942
• Average European salaries have risen by 18.7% to €62,877
• Average North American salaries rose by 5.5% to $84,571
• UK Black employees earn on average £7,951 below their White co-workers
• UK Asian employees earn on average £16,297 below their White co-workers
• UK female employees earn 13% below the salary average
• North American female employees earn 13% below the salary average
• European female employees earn 11% below the salary average

LONDON, 12/06/2023: A survey from STEM recruitment expert SRG and New Scientist reveals heightening salaries and worsening pay inequities across

the global STEM industries.

While the survey indicates that average salaries across the scientific sectors have risen in the UK (13.1% increase), Europe (18.7% increase), and North America (5.5% increase), the gender and ethnicity pay gaps remain significant hurdles to meaningful pay equity in STEM.


In 2022, our STEM Salary Survey revealed a 28% difference in the gender pay gap in the UK, a 17% gender pay gap in Europe, and a 17.5% gender pay gap in North America.


While this year’s survey shows an improvement in gender pay disparities, there remains significant progress to be made. In the UK, the gender pay gap is 13%, in Europe 11%, and in North America 13%.


While prospects for women in the scientific industries are improving, ethnic disparities in pay have heightened. 


In 2022, our STEM Salary Survey revealed that STEM professionals from Mixed/Multiple ethnic backgrounds earned £5,472 below their White co-workers, followed by Asian professionals (£7,412 below White co-workers), and Black professionals (£14,636 below White co-workers).


This year, our research shows that STEM professionals from Mixed/Multiple ethnic backgrounds earned just £891 below their White co-workers, while Black professionals earned £7,951 below their white co-workers and Asian professionals earned £16,297 below their White co-workers.


Andrew Turner, Managing Director at SRG, commented on the results:


“In today’s climate of talent scarcity, investing in inclusive pathways for progression in STEM is vital to fuel the future of our workforces and unravel pay disparities that continue to disadvantage professionals from diverse backgrounds today. At SRG, we pride ourselves on our ability to work with our partners and deliver inclusive hiring solutions while ensuring that we’re reaching STEM professionals from diverse backgrounds in an accessible way and empowering them throughout their career journey.”

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE 2023 STEM SALARY SURVEY

About the data: SRG and New Scientist surveyed 4,000 STEM professionals working in the Engineering, Medtech, Biotech, Pharmaceutical, FMCG, Chemical, Clinical sectors as well as Academia. 64% of respondents were from the UK, 23% of respondents were from North America, and 13% of respondents were from Europe.

-ENDS-

About SRG
SRG is the leading recruiter of permanent and temporary STEM talent for the UK, Europe, and the US. With over thirty years of experience serving the STEM industries, SRG expertly takes projects from discovery to completion, developing bespoke solutions that unlock new ways of working and thought. SRG is part of Impellam Group, a leading global staffing business. Impellam’s vision is to be the world’s most trusted staffing company – trusted by our people, our customers, and our investors in equal measure. 

About Impellam Group
Impellam is a connected group providing global workforce and specialist recruitment solutions. Our 2,000 people and market-leading brands work across a broad spectrum of industries and job categories throughout North America, the UK, Europe, and Asia Pac.

Our award-winning Global Managed Services provide a diverse range of digitally enabled, multi-disciplinary workforce solutions to organisations around the world. We are upper quadrant industry leaders in Managed Service Provision and Services Procurement, and the seventh largest Managed Service Provider in the world with over £4bn SUM (Spend under Management).

Our STEM businesses are specialists in recruiting and engaging talent in the key growth markets of technology, digital, data, science, clinical, and engineering and work with clients across all sectors and sizes, delivering services that span Managed Services (MSP), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Statement of Work (SOW) and specialist recruitment.

Led by our Virtuosos, our capabilities are underpinned by our proprietary digital technology and unique partnerships with market-leading software providers, enabling us to transform and future-proof our services.
We believe in the power of work. Through the power of work, we build better businesses and help people lead more fulfilling lives.