Men's and Women's Salaries in Russia: How and Where They Differ
In 2025, the average gross salary of men in Russia was 117,748 rubles per month, women 78,977. The difference was 38,771 rubles: women earn 67.1% of what men earn. Eight years earlier, in 2017, it was 71.7%, i.e., the gap is not narrowing but widening. Below, based on Rosstat data, we examine which industries have the largest gap, at what age it reaches its maximum, and why a woman earns less in the same position. Each section includes a chart, and the full tables are available on the website in interactive form.
Men's and Women's Salaries Over the Years
Rosstat collects salary data by gender every two years. The dataset is called "Salaries of Men and Women by Types of Economic Activity", and it contains five snapshots: 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025.
| Year | Men, rub. | Women, rub. | Women to Men |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 45,557 | 32,658 | 71.7% |
| 2019 | 52,533 | 37,872 | 72.1% |
| 2021 | 67,056 | 48,594 | 72.5% |
| 2023 | 87,757 | 61,113 | 69.6% |
| 2025 | 117,748 | 78,977 | 67.1% |
From 2017 to 2025, men's salaries increased 2.59 times, women's 2.42 times. Nominally both grew strongly, but part of this growth was eaten by inflation, so the comparison should be made in terms of ratios rather than rubles. Until 2021, the ratio improved slowly and reached 72.5%, then fell by 5.4 percentage points over four years. In 2025, men earned 1.49 times more than women, compared with 1.39 times in 2017.
To understand what these rubles actually meant, recalculate them using the inflation calculator. And how the average salary changed without gender breakdown is shown by the yearly chart.
Where the difference is greatest: industries
The national average is composed of very different sectors. The ratio of women's wages to men's in 2025 ranges from 64.97% to 93.9%. The dataset "Women’s wages relative to men’s wages by type of activity" shows this for each industry.
The biggest gap is in information and communications: men earn 223,608 rubles, women 145,268, i.e. 65.0%. The difference is 78,340 rubles per month, almost the same as the average wage of a woman across the country (78,977). Next comes professional, scientific and technical activity: 164,833 and 115,279 rubles, 69.9%. In culture and sport women earn 70.8% of men’s wages, in mining 73.3%, in trade 75.1%.
The smallest gap is in education: 66,959 rubles for men and 62,853 for women, 93.9%. Here wages are low for everyone, and women are the majority among teachers, so the male “premium” hardly appears. In health care and social services the ratio is 83.5%, in agriculture 80.1%.
The most interesting is the dynamics. In construction, women earned 95.7% of men’s wages in 2017, and 83.7% in 2025. In information and communications it was 78.9%, now 65.0%. In all surveyed types of activity the overall ratio fell from 71.7% to 67.1%. It increased only in manufacturing (from 76.8% to 77.8%) and in education (from 93.0% to 93.9%). For more details on how wages differ between industries in general, we wrote an article about average wages by industry.
Q&A: which industry pays women the most
In information and communications: 145,268 rubles in 2025. But men also earn the most there, 223,608 rubles, so by ratio this sector is actually at the bottom. The second‑highest women’s wage is in mining of mineral resources (115,713 rubles), the third is professional and scientific activity (115,279).
Age: when the gap reaches its maximum
The data from the 2023 salary structure survey (dataset "Average wages of women and men by occupation groups") break down workers by age. The picture is simple, and it explains a lot.
At 20-24 years women earn 53,692 rubles, men 73,070: 73.5%. At 25-29 years the women's wage reaches its maximum, 70,025 rubles, with men at 90,897 (77.0%). Then the women's curve goes down: 68,266 rubles at 30-34 years, 66,037 at 35-39, 65,568 at 40-44. The men's curve keeps rising for another ten years and peaks at 102,534 rubles at 35-39 years.
The largest gap is at 35-39 years: 102,534 rubles versus 66,037, a difference of 36,497 rubles, women earn 64.4%. The smallest gap is by 60-64 years: there women earn 79.9% of men's wages. Rosstat does not give reasons, it only calculates. But the age 30-40 is a child‑bearing period, and the coincidence of the rise in the men's curve with the decline in the women's is hard to call accidental: women at this time more often go on parental leave, switch to part‑time work or to more “convenient” positions. This is an inference, not data from the set itself.
Q&A: why women's wages start to fall after 30
Rosstat data show only that it falls: after 29 years the women's curve goes down, while the men's goes up. The explanation has to be sought outside the table. Among possible reasons are career breaks and part‑time work, as well as the fact that men more often hold managerial positions at this age.
Professions: one position, different money
The most inconvenient place for explanations: the gap remains even within a single group of professions. In the same set for 2023:
- managers: women 111,513 rubles, men 166,260 (67.1%), difference 54,747 rubles;
- specialists of the highest qualification level: 68,918 and 103,675 rubles (66.5%);
- specialists of the middle qualification level: 53,901 and 93,817 rubles (57.5%), difference 39,916 rubles;
- specialists engaged in preparation and filing of documentation and accounting: 45,775 and 64,234 rubles (71.3%).
The biggest lag is among middle‑level specialists: women receive 57.5% of the male salary. One possible explanation: this group includes both technical and social professions, and technical ones are paid higher. This is a hypothesis, not a conclusion from the table.
The explanation "men work more" is checked with a separate set: average hourly wage and work week by occupation groups. The work week for managers is the same, 40 hours for both women and men, but hourly pay differs: 638 rubles per hour for women and 935 for men (68.2%). For specialists of the highest level women work 38 hours per week, men 40, and the hour costs 415 rubles versus 594 (69.9%). For information technology specialists the week is the same, 40 hours, the hour is 707 rubles for women and 906 for men (78.0%).
It turns out that the difference in hours worked explains the monetary gap only partially. Even with an equal week, the hour for women is paid less. In education women work 36 hours, men 37, and the hour costs 360 and 405 rubles (88.9%): here the gap almost disappears, but salaries are the lowest for everyone.
How to read these figures
First: these are average gross salaries before tax, not medians. Part of the difference is due to employment structure: more women work in education and health care, where pay is lower, and more men work in extraction and construction. But if it were only about structure, the gap would disappear within industries. It does not disappear: in information and communications it is 35%, in professional activities it is 30%.
Second: the data are released every two years, so the trend is visible at five points. The drop from 72.5% to 67.1% over the 2021-2025 period is noticeable, but reasons cannot be discussed based solely on these data.
Third: the overall salary for your region can be viewed separately, for example in the ranking of average salary by region. These regional tables do not break down by gender, so the gap in your region cannot be assessed from them.
Summary
In 2025 men earned on average 117,748 rubles per month, women 78,977, i.e., 67.1% of the male salary. Since 2021, when it was 72.5%, the ratio has worsened. Women fall most behind in information and communications (65.0%) and professional activities (69.9%), and least in education (93.9%). Male salaries rise up to age 35-39, female salaries peak at age 25-29 and then decline. The difference persists within the same occupational group and even with the same working week. Source of all data: Rosstat.