Executive Summary
The majority of women currently participate in the labor force, but relatively few work in the facility management industry, making up just 20% of the workforce. There has been little change to this gender mix over the past decade. This report provides the most comprehensive and detailed analysis to date on the state of women in FM throughout the world (BLS, 2021; IFMA, 2021). Salary outlooks and conditions by gender are evaluated to support organizations in recruiting and retaining women facility managers, while also providing other key information from which to develop or enhance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within FM.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (April 2021). Women in the labor force: a databook. Retrieved at https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-databook/2020/home.htm
IFMA (2021). Global Salary and Compensation Report
Executive Summary
The majority of women currently participate in the labor force, but relatively few work in the facility management industry, making up just 20% of the workforce. There has been little change to this gender mix over the past decade. This report provides the most comprehensive and detailed analysis to date on the state of women in FM throughout the world (BLS, 2021; IFMA, 2021). Salary outlooks and conditions by gender are evaluated to support organizations in recruiting and retaining women facility managers, while also providing other key information from which to develop or enhance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within FM.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (April 2021). Women in the labor force: a databook. Retrieved at https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-databook/2020/home.htm
IFMA (2021). Global Salary and Compensation Report
Using this Report
IFMA’s Women in Facility Management: A Global Salary and Compensation Supplementary Report is a general overview of the demographics and backgrounds of 3,500 professionals in the facility management field. Salaries are detailed for specific management levels, industry sectors and geographic areas throughout the world.
This report describes the various demographics and gender mix of respondents including age and educational attainment, as well as details on various salary determinants like job scope, industry and years of experience affecting salary ranges.
When using this report, keep in mind:
- This survey represents a self-report of data. All data was submitted voluntarily. While the research team adjusted for outliers or other anomalous data, readers are advised to remember that this report represents a sample of the total population.
- Respondents are grouped into management levels for purposes of data analysis and summation. These groupings are based on responses regarding supervisory responsibility and must not be confused with actual position titles which vary across companies and industries. Facility managers have many different job titles. The research team reclassified job titles where appropriate to provide readers with a clearer view of compensation information.
Methodology
To create this report, the research team reviewed questions posed in previous FM salary surveys to help track both historical and current compensation trends. Input and pilot testing were also provided by a panel of subject matter experts. Once tested, the survey was sent electronically to more than 12,400 facility professionals in February 2021. A total of 3,557 survey responses were received by April 2021, for a 29% response rate. Compensation data provided in local currency was converted to U.S. dollars based on currency exchange rates per the Federal Reserve of April 11, 2021. When applicable, comparisons are made to previous IFMA salary survey reports. Given the level of response to this survey, IFMA is 95% confident that responses given by all responding organizations can be generalized to all IFMA member organizations with a margin of error of approximately +/- 1.4%. It is important to note that as the sample size decreases in many of the tables, the margin of error increases.
Limitations
As with any report of this nature, the reader should be aware of a few important limitations. It is important to note the sample size (N) when interpreting averages or medians. Percentages may not add to 100 percent due to rounding or the acceptance of multiple responses. In many cases respondents did not answer all questions, so the base numbers differ among the various quantitative findings. Salary and compensation are significantly affected by many factors, including geographic region, industry sector, experience and education. Readers are strongly encouraged to fully evaluate the presented data in the context in which it is provided. While the report includes respondents from several major geographic regions throughout the world, data is limited outside of North America. The goal of this report is to raise awareness of women’s profiles based upon a variety of demographic factors including geography. This study is the first in a series of reports that explores different facets of women in the FM workforce.
Definitions
COMPENSATION DATA is only considered for salary and hourly data as very few respondents provided commission or contract data.
JOB LEVELS are defined as follows:
- Entry-Level –Manage employees or act as professional specialist
- Mid-Level – Manage supervisors who manage others
- Senior-Level – Manage two or more levels of supervisors
AVERAGE, also referred to as mean, is the sum or total of all responses divided by the number of respondents. This statistic is vulnerable to influence from very large or small values which tend to misrepresent the true middle. The median is the best estimate of the middle of the distribution, especially in small samples. Mean averages were used in this report except when significant outliers required use of the median.
BASE SALARY is the reported annual cash compensation excluding bonuses or other payments. For the sake of consistency in reporting values, all monetary values are U.S. dollars (US$). Readers may use the exchange rates to adjust values into their preferred currency.
MEDIAN (50th Percentile) is the middle value in a range of responses. One half of all responses fall at or below the median and one half at or above. The median is recommended for comparison of salary data and is emphasized throughout the report. The median is not as vulnerable to extreme values as is the mean.
“N” is the number of respondents supplying the data in a table or chart. Either the N or the percentage of total sample is reported (from which you can calculate the size of the reported group). Generally as N decreases, the statistic being reported becomes less reliable.
PERCENTILES are simple divisions of the data. The percentile indicates what percent of the responses fall to the left if arranged on a number line. For example, the 25th percentile of compensation means at this point 25% of respondents have less compensation than the reported value.
Composition of Survey Respondents
Male facility managers from North America comprise 72% of the total sample, followed by Asia and Pacific (9%), the Middle East (6%), Europe (5%), Africa (5%) and South and Latin America (3%) (IFMA, 2021). Eighty-three percent of the 659 women respondents were from North America, followed by Asia Pacific (6%), Europe (5%), Africa (3%), South and Latin America (2%) and the Middle East (1%) (Table 1).
TABLE 1
Composition of Survey Respondents
Male facility managers from North America comprise 72% of the total sample, followed by Asia and Pacific (9%), the Middle East (6%), Europe (5%), Africa (5%) and South and Latin America (3%) (IFMA, 2021). Eighty-three percent of the 659 women respondents were from North America, followed by Asia Pacific (6%), Europe (5%), Africa (3%), South and Latin America (2%) and the Middle East (1%) (Table 1).
TABLE 1
Women in FM
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Christa Dodoo
