Remote work could be creating a reverse gender pay gap—with fully remote male workers twice as likely as women to be passed over for promotion

Researchers at the University of Warsaw surveyed 937 U.K. managers to find that fully remote workers were 11% less likely to receive a promotion compared to colleagues who worked exclusively in the office. 

But in a twist on classic trends, it’s men, not women, who are bearing most of the penalty.

A man’s world?

Managers across the U.K. were given a theoretical scenario where they were presented with two candidates, only one of whom could receive a pay rise and promotion. 

The candidates were separated by age, family situation, experience, and, most importantly for the study, where they spent their time working.  

Controlling for other factors, the results tended to show bosses preferring to promote and give raises to the worker who showed up to the office every day.

The top-line results are perhaps unsurprising, particularly given they are based on the thoughts of managers, who have traditionally been less sold on the idea of remote work compared with their subordinates. 

Research from ZipRecruiter found there was a $22,000 difference in salary between the average remote job and the average in-person job. 

However, the figures revealed much starker differences in the effect of remote working between men and women. 

The authors reported that men were 15% less likely to secure a promotion if they worked from home, compared to 7% for women. A male remote worker’s chances of a raise were 10% worse than his in-office colleagues, while a female home worker was 7% less likely to get a bump in pay.

“Our findings indicate that individuals working from home still encounter career penalties, irrespective of the widespread adoption of this mode of work,” Agnieszka Kasperska, an author of the report, told the British Sociological Association. 

“Both male and female remote workers experience career penalties, but they are substantially larger for men.” 

The trends are even worse at companies that have what is perceived to be a strict corporate culture.

In those workplaces, men were 30% less likely to be promoted and 19% less likely to receive a pay rise. Female remote workers, meanwhile, were 15% less likely to receive a promotion, but also 19% likely to see their pay hiked. 

The authors pointed out that in organizations with supportive policies, there was no penalty for remote working.

While ZipRecruiter’s research suggests there is a premium on in-office work, it’s still only affordable for managers to live near the office, according to payroll processor ADP.

Managers pushing against remote work

The results from the University of Warsaw’s survey may tell us something about employers’ old-fashioned perceptions of gender roles in the workplace. 

Women have typically been afforded more flexibility by bosses due to their traditional role as family caregivers. 

This has in the past created a “motherhood penalty” as a consequence of that flexibility, which often sees women fall behind men in the corporate ladder.

The added flexibility since the onset of the pandemic has helped women, particularly mothers, balance their work with family life in a more effective way. 

That progress is under threat as more and more bosses order their staffers back to the office, in some cases up to five days a week. 

Men, meanwhile, still seem reluctant to completely reverse historic gender norms. 

A study from the Center for Global Development found women on average took on 173 hours of additional child care during the height of COVID-19 in 2020, while men took on a third less. 

While that may have shifted as more fathers choose remote work, not many are deciding to become stay-at-home dads.

The 1% share of U.S. men identifying as stay-at-home dads in 2022 is the same rate it has been for 18 straight years, suggesting there hasn’t been any revolution since the pandemic.