Fashion Designer Gender Statistics

Approximately 85% of students at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) are female

At Parsons School of Design roughly 82% of the student body identifies as female

Central Saint Martins reports a student body that is approximately 75% female across art and design courses

London College of Fashion has a female student population of roughly 86%

In the UK roughly 87% of all students placed in fashion design courses are women

89% of declared fashion majors in US universities are women

Men make up only about 11% of fashion design graduates in the United States

At the Royal College of Art fashion programs have a female enrollment of approximately 70%

Of the students earning Master’s degrees in Fashion Design in the US 83% are women

Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts fashion department historically sees 75-80% female enrollment

The drop-off rate of women from fashion school to senior leadership is approximately 70%

81.3% of Textile Sciences and Engineering degrees are awarded to women

Scholarship applicants for fashion design programs are 90% female in standard industry charity pools

Internships in top fashion houses are occupied by women 80% of the time

Male enrollment in fashion merchandising programs is lower than design programs at roughly 8%

At Polimoda in Italy the student population is approximately 78% female

Esmod Paris reports a student diversity of 80% female to 20% male

Bunka Fashion College in Japan maintains a female student ratio of over 85%

92% of Apparel and Textiles majors in US colleges are women

Despite high enrollment female students are less likely to be mentored by a CEO of the same gender compared to male students

In the United States 82.7% of all employed fashion designers are women

The remaining 17.3% of employed fashion designers in the United States are men

Globally women make up approximately 80% of the entire garment sector workforce

Among fashion pattern makers in the US 77.2% are female

For the role of textile designer women account for 78.4% of the US workforce

There are over 4679 fashion designers currently employed in the United States employed with a heavy female majority

69% of fashion stylists in the US workforce are female

In the broader category of art and design workers women comprise 63% of the total US workforce

Women account for nearly 85% of the workforce in the garment industry in Bangladesh

In Vietnam 80% of the fluctuating garment workforce is female

88.6% of Costume Designers in the US are women

The average age of a female fashion designer in the US is 36 years old

72% of fashion buyers in the industry are female

In the specialized role of Technical Designer 85.3% are women

Only 3.9% of fashion designers in the US identify as LGBTQ consistently with gender diversity metrics

In Cambodia the garment sector is 85% female

Caucasian women make up the largest demographic subset of fashion designers at 48.6%

65% of Visual Merchandisers in fashion retail are women

Among Fashion Illustrators 73% are female

The percentage of male fashion designers has decreased by roughly 1% over the last decade in the US

Only 14% of major fashion brands are run by female executives

Less than 50% of well-known womenswear brands are designed by women

In the top 50 luxury brands only 6 are led by female CEOs

Men hold 63% of the executive roles in the fashion industry despite being a minority in the workforce

Only 40% of womenswear brands presented at major fashion weeks are designed by women

100% of LVMH's top fashion houses were led by male creative directors as recently as 2017 before recent appointments

At Kering women account for 55% of managers but only 33% of the Executive Committee

Only 25% of board members in UK fashion companies are women

Among the top 30 publicly traded fashion companies women make up only 23% of board directors

Female representation on the boards of Fortune 1000 apparel companies is stuck at roughly 22%

As of 2019 only 12.8% of the leadership positions at LVMH were held by women

Women are 30% less likely than men to be promoted from entry-level to management in fashion retail

Only 7 out of 30 major Paris houses had a female creative director in 2019

At Inditex (Zara) women represent 76% of the workforce but 39% of the Board of Directors

At H&M Group the board of directors is 55% female which is an industry outlier

Nike’s vice president level leadership is only 43% female

Under Armour's leadership team is only 26% female

9 out of 10 department store CEO positions are held by men

In French luxury giant conglomerates only 27% of P&L responsibility roles are held by women

Adidas reports a global director level of 36% women

Historically only 2 of the 16 LVMH Prize winners for Young Fashion Designers have been solo female founders

Women receive only 2% of venture capital funding for fashion-tech startups

Of the 500 people shaping the global fashion industry (BoF 500) only 43% are women

In the 92-year history of the Academy Awards arguably the biggest fashion red carpet only 17% of Best Costume Design winners have been men showing a reverse skew

At the CFDA Awards female designers win Womenswear Designer of the Year only 32% of the time over the last 20 years

Only 25% of brands showing at Paris Fashion Week in 2020 were founded by women

London Fashion Week traditionally has the highest ratio of female designers on the schedule at roughly 45%

Brands founded by women are 20% less likely to receive second-round funding than those founded by men

Spanx founded by Sara Blakely is one of only 3% of female-led fashion billion-dollar valuations

In the history of the Time 100 Most Influential People Fashion Icons are 70% male

61% of female fashion founders usually self-fund their initial launch compared to 42% of men

The "Lipstick Effect" phenomenon is studied primarily by male economists with 80% of citations coming from male authors

Only 1 in 5 fashion patents are registered by women

Retail dive reports that 95% of retail tech (fashion focus) unicorns are led by men

At the Met Gala the featured designer for the exhibit has been a man 80% of the time in the last 30 years

Among sustainable fashion brands 56% are founded by women higher than the general industry average

33% of female fashion founders cite work-life balance as the primary reason for leaving their own companies

Wikipedia biographies for female fashion designers are on average 20% shorter than their male counterparts

Only 10% of high-end sneaker collaborations are with female designers

Vogue's "Designer of the Year" mentions have been 60% male over the last decade

Women in fashion design earn $0.85 for every dollar a man earns

The average gender pay gap in the UK fashion retail sector is 10.4% in favor of men

Male fashion designers in the US have an average salary of $68k while females average $63k

At Director level roles in the fashion industry the pay gap widens to 23% in favor of men

Men in the fashion industry are 2 times more likely to receive stock options than their female counterparts

Entry-level male designers ask for 20% higher starting salaries than female peers

Burberry reported a mean gender pay gap of 30.5% in 2022

Chanel Ltd reported a gender pay gap where men earned 16.5% more per hour than women

Top earning male creative directors at luxury houses can earn over €10 million annually dwarfing average female design wages

While women dominate the workforce textile garment workers are among the lowest paid globally earning 50% less than the living wage

In the UK textile industry the median gender pay gap is approximately 15%

Male models typically earn 75% less than female models the only sub-sector where the gap is reversed

Sweaty Betty a female-focused brand reported a pay gap of 22% favoring men in corporate roles

Next Plc reported a mean gender pay gap of 11% favoring men

Urban Outfitters US data indicates a $4k difference in median pay between male and female store managers

In New York City the specific pay gap for fashion designers is closer to 9% narrower than the national average

Freelance male designers charge on average 30% more per hour than freelance female designers

The bonus gap in fashion retail management is 28% favoring men

L.K. Bennett reported a median gender pay gap of 6% relatively low for the sector

ASOS reported a median gender pay gap of 32.2% in 2021 largely due to more men in tech roles