New research from hiring platform IrishJobs shows that based on their role, skills and experience, men expect a median salary of €64,000, compared to €53,000 for women, a 17% gap in pay expectations.
The report is based on a survey of 470 recruiters and 670 candidates in Ireland, as well as an analysis of 1.3 million job adverts across the Irish labour market.
The data shows the median salary for male professionals in Ireland was €55,000 in 2025, compared to a median salary of €44,000 for women.
79% of men said they are satisfied with their salary, compared to 71% of women.
The average pay rise for men in 2025 was 6.5%, compared to 5.4% for women, according to the research.
Nearly half of women who received a pay rise said the level of increase did not fully reflect their work performance.
In comparison, 30% of men said that pay increases did not match their performance.
More than two-thirds of men said they feel confident negotiating a pay rise, compared to 47% of women.
According to the data from Eurostat, the gender pay gap in Ireland has fallen to 8%. It measures the gap between median female income and median male income.
"Men dominate in more high-paying sectors such as finance and tech, whereas women are more heavily concentrated in lower-paid yet essential sectors such as health and education," senior researcher at the Economic and social research institute, Dr Adele Whelan, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
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"Women historically play a more dominant role as primary caregivers, whether that's for children or elderly or sick parents," she said.
"This means that they often have to trade salaries for job security, shorter commutes and remain in jobs that they would have moved on for other reasons," the researcher added.
EU Pay Transparency Directive
The IrishJobs findings come ahead of the introduction of the EU Pay Transparency Directive in June.
The new rules will oblige employers to publish salary ranges for job adverts and report regularly on any gender pay gap in their organisation.
"The idea is that it takes the guesswork out of it so we know what the pay is from the beginning, meaning that people are more informed and they don't underprice themselves," the ESRI economist explained.
According to IrishJobs, only 38% of job adverts in Ireland currently display salary ranges.
"It's clear from the findings that more work is needed to address the lingering cultural and structural barriers resulting in gender pay gaps," said Christopher Paye, Country Director of The Stepstone Group Ireland with responsibility for IrishJobs.
"When women are not empowered to feel confident about their market value, it reinforces inequalities that already exist in the labour market."
"With only 38% of job adverts in Ireland currently displaying salary ranges, increasing transparency on salary ranges can help to address these inequalities and ensure that talent is rewarded fairly, regardless of gender," Mr Paye said.
Gap in pensions and digital skills
The gender pay gap trickles down to later stages of life, according to the findings by Dr Whelan.
"This isn't just about a monthly paycheck, it can materialise over the lifetime as a longer penalty because we know the gender pension gap in Ireland is actually 35%," the economist noted.
A recent study by the ESRI also found that Irish women are under-represented in the most digitally intensive jobs, with Ireland having Europe's largest gender gap in advanced digital skills use at work.
"Even when we compare women and men with similar education skills and in similar jobs, women are still less likely to do the advanced digital skills at work," Dr Whelan noted.
"The most concerning fact is that the gap is higher for younger women, those under the age of 35," she said.
"This suggests that it isn't a legacy generational issue that's going to solve itself," she added.
