A sobering truth surfaces as 2025 begins. The LPC 2024 Barometer continues to reveal alarming salary disparities between men and women, particularly among Product Leaders. Why these differences? What solutions can be implemented to address them? Three prominent figures in the French Product community share their insights.
“It’s depressing.” Amandine Durr, CPO of Back Market, doesn’t hold back when discussing the salary section of the LPC 2024 Barometer results. One can easily understand why: while salaries have risen overall, clear disparities between men and women persist.
For instance, male Product Managers with 5 to 15 years of experience earn 9% to 15% more than women with the same seniority levels. This gap remains at 13% beyond 15 years of experience. In Product Design, men with 5 to 15 years of experience earn up to 11% more than their female counterparts. However, the most striking differences appear among Product Leaders: men with 10 to 15 years of experience earn 13% more than women at the same level, with this gap climbing to 18% beyond 15 years.
Who’s to blame?
According to Amandine Durr, this inequality isn’t specific to the Product ecosystem. “I think the problem exists across all sectors. Even with the same qualifications, women have a harder time negotiating their salaries.” This perspective is shared by Marion Darnet. The founder of Pachamama, a career agents’ collective in Product, is deeply committed to this issue, as she also leads L’Avant-Garde, a community of 150 women Product Leaders. “Women don’t dare ask. And if you don’t ask, you don’t get!”
Read More: Download the full LPC 2024 Barometer on the state of Product Management in France.
Why do women, even with over 10 or 15 years of experience in Product, hold back? “Because they’ve never been taught to value themselves, to showcase their achievements,” explains Marion Darnet. “As a result, it’s harder for them to secure strategic projects. Men do this far more naturally. They dare to ask without being as affected by rejection. They climb the ranks more easily because they approach it with confidence, even without always having all the required skills. Women, on the other hand, spend too much time worrying about what will happen if they’re told no and ultimately avoid taking risks.”
Yet, Marion Darnet considers this a key part of being a Product Leader. “When you’re a CPO, you’re also responsible for stakeholder management. This includes going to your superior, objectively presenting your achievements, your impact, and your market value to request a raise.”
Companies must face up to their responsibilities
However, it’s not only up to women to bridge the gap. “Managers have a critical role to play, and they’re not doing enough in my opinion. They also need to acknowledge women’s biases and account for them at every stage of the recruitment or career advancement process, including raises,” states Marion Darnet. “We already have the answers; it’s time to act accordingly.”
Sylvain Grande, CPO of PayFit, also calls on companies, which he believes play a significant role in these disparities, especially HR and managers. While some differences can be justified by varying levels of skills or experience, “managers aren’t adequately challenged to identify and address existing biases, such as by using monitoring tools..”
Stay strong! Keep fighting for the salary you deserve
The Product Leader believes these inequalities are harmful not only to women but also to the ecosystem. “Equal opportunities should translate into equal outcomes,” pleads Grande. For him, salary disparities are not just unfair but also a hindrance to innovation and collective performance. “Rethinking our recruitment and promotion processes is essential: diversity isn’t just a statistic; it’s a winning strategy for Product and Design. IIt’s rare to create an app meant exclusively for white men under 30.”
According to the PayFit CPO, it is up to companies to address inequalities. For instance, Grande’s organization has implemented measures to rectify inequalities. The Compensation & Benefits department conducted a comprehensive study involving all 650+ employees to identify and address any anomalies. “The cases I found in my teams mainly involved profiles who had joined the company at very junior levels and whose salary progression hadn’t necessarily kept up with market trends. It’s crucial to create a kind of ‘staircase.’ I strongly believe in the ripple effect! I’m fortunate to work with a number of women leaders in Product and Design, and I think it’s always easier for the second, third, and fourth woman than it is for the first.”, he says.
Having women in leadership roles is also key for Amandine Durr. “Women Product Leaders are more aware of these issues, and such situations are less likely to arise. Once I reached leadership positions, I was able to address inequalities within my teams. Even though I don’t believe this stems from bad intentions, men are less likely to have this reflex.”
Women’s rise in Product Marketing and Design: A true sign of progress?
This year brought to light an interesting result: the LPC Barometer also reveals disparities among senior Product Designers and Product Marketers—but this time in favor of women! Female Product Marketing Managers with over 15 years of experience earn 18% more than men. For Product Designers, the gap is even more pronounced, at 25%.
This is good news for Sylvain Grande. “It’s sometimes positive to see disparities favoring both men and women within the same scale, as it indicates diversity. I’m less concerned about a framework where men and women each have advantages than one where men consistently earn 15% more.”
Marion Darnet offers several hypotheses to explain these gaps: “Is it because senior women in Product Design have gotten used to fighting to showcase their profession and, as a result, know their market value? Or because there are very few female leaders in Product Design, and companies are eager to place women in these roles, even if that means paying more? I can’t say for sure”, she ponders.
For Product Marketing, her analysis is slightly different. “There are more women in this field, but top-tier profiles are rare. It means that those who reach the top are exceptional. They tick all the boxes, and they’re therefore highly paid.”
Amandine Durr, however, sees things differently. “We need to consider the standing of these disciplines within companies. Are they represented at the executive committee level, as Product often is? I don’t think so. And biases aren’t the same in a VP team as they are in an executive committee, the latter being a predominantly male environment.”
Regardless, Durr urges all stakeholders to act, addressing women first: “Stay strong! Keep fighting for the salary you deserve based on your skills and value, without holding yourself back. But don’t forget that negotiation is 50/50.”
Both sides thus need to take action—and quickly, according to Sylvain Grande. “Salary gaps are everyone’s responsibility, and we have the tools to act swiftly. The necessary data already exists within companies: it must be used to identify and correct these inequalities. By mobilizing everyone—from teams to leaders—we can create a fairer, higher-performing ecosystem”, he concludes.