Following International Women's Day, research finds that women in advertising lose up to $271,829 over the course of their careers compared to their male counterparts

SEATTLE, March 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DNA&STONE, the full-service agency that leads with Radical Empathy, in collaboration with Nancy L. Wayne, PhD, of UCLA and Ryan D. Krone, PhD, of Elite Research, LLC, has released a new independent research study titled Perception Isn't Reality: Ad Men and Women See the Gender Pay Gap—and Each Other—Differently. The research finds that women working in the U.S. advertising industry earn significantly less than men, even after controlling for every known factor traditionally used to explain pay differences.

Conducted by Jess Watts, Chief Strategy Officer at DNA&STONE, along with Krone and Wayne, the study analyzed responses from 926 advertising professionals across the United States. The findings reveal a gender pay gap of 5% for women overall and 8% for mothers, after controlling for education, seniority, experience, hours worked, geography, agency type, company structure and size, department, race/ethnicity and prior pregnancy.

Men's estimated average salary was $135,496, compared to $128,815 for women who had never been pregnant; a 5% gap and $124,623 for women who had been pregnant; an 8% gap. Over a 25-year career, this disparity translates into an estimated $167,042 to $271,829 in lost earnings for women. The statistical model explained 67% of salary variation, leaving roughly one-third unaccounted for, an area the researchers suggest likely includes discrimination and other unmeasured biases.

"If agencies truly believe in meritocracy, then the numbers should reflect it," said Watts. "You can't brand yourself as progressive while quietly underpaying women. The gap we found isn't about ambition or qualifications, it's about power, discretion and who gets the benefit of the doubt. Until agencies confront that honestly, the industry will keep selling equality in its campaigns while failing to practice it in its payroll. That said, I deeply believe change is possible and I've seen it first hand here at DNA&STONE. When leadership commits to transparency, fairness and real accountability, equity stops being a talking point and becomes part of the culture."

Although 96% of women and most men believe a gender pay gap exists in advertising, both groups overestimated its size. Many women estimated the gap at 15–20%, closer to the national average pay gap, while the actual industry gap is 5–8%. Notably, only 33% of women believed they personally were underpaid due to gender, despite data showing that, on average, they are.

The study also found significant confusion and opacity surrounding compensation practices, with 42% percent of respondents saying they do not understand their agency's pay structure, and nearly half reported they do not understand how salary decisions are made. Additionally, 68% had worked somewhere that discouraged salary discussions, and 20% incorrectly believed discussing pay could lead to legal consequences. Women reported less clarity than men regarding compensation systems. Yet among employees who did share salary information, 83% described the experience as positive.

The research further uncovered evidence that social and managerial dynamics contribute to pay inequities. The majority of managers were male (63%), and women were more likely to encounter managerial indifference when raising concerns about career advancement or pay. Men, by contrast, were more likely to receive clear (even if sometimes negative) responses about advancement. One unexpected finding was that men who reported being uncomfortable working closely with women earned more than women, possibly correlated to a long-standing "fraternity" culture in advertising.

"The findings from this report were striking, yet also not completely surprising," said Wayne. "Too often, men fall back on comfort and familiarity, even when it quietly reinforces inequity. Closing the gender pay gap will take more than awareness; it requires real commitment from agencies, including greater salary transparency, regular compensation audits and a willingness to challenge bias and choose fairness over the status quo."

Perception Isn't Reality: Ad Men and Women See the Gender Pay Gap—and Each Other—Differently can be downloaded in its entirety here.

About DNA&STONE
DNA&STONE is a full-service creative agency that is grounded in a proprietary strategic approach called Radical Empathy, DNA&STONE goes beyond just understanding, to feeling the experiences, perspectives and root causes that drive consumers and clients, resulting in work with deep emotional intelligence. DNA&STONE was recently named Ad Age Small Agency of the Year in 2025 and was shortlisted in Adweek's 2025 Agency of the Year Awards. Clients include BECU, Amazon, Providence, MCU, and NBC News. To learn more about us, please visit www.dnaandstone.com.

Contact: Gabriella Schatz, gabriella@gjspublicrelations.com

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SOURCE DNA&STONE