A Trillion-Dollar Industry Built on Undervalued Talent

The Numbers Don’t Lie. The Gap Between What This Industry Generates and What It Pays Its Producers Is a Problem We Can’t Ignore.

I’m about to talk numbers. And not the kind that make this industry look good.

The global events industry was valued at nearly $1.5 trillion in 2025. Trillion. With a T. It’s projected to grow to over $2.4 trillion by 2035. In the U.S. alone, this sector generates over 1.3 million jobs every year. We’re talking about one of the most significant drivers of brand engagement, corporate strategy, and revenue generation across every major industry.

So this isn’t some small, niche corner of the market. This is a massive, global, trillion-dollar industry. And the people responsible for actually producing these experiences? We’re being paid like it’s a side hustle.

So What Are We Actually Getting Paid?

I went and pulled the data because I needed to see it in black and white. And honestly, it’s worse than I thought.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for meeting, convention, and event planners was $59,440 in 2024. The bottom 10% earned less than $35,990. And even the top 10%, we’re talking the most experienced, most credentialed people in this entire field, earned just over $101,000.

Read that again. The people managing six-figure and seven-figure budgets. Coordinating dozens of vendors. Responsible for strategy, logistics, client relationships, risk management, attendee experience. All of it. And the median pay for carrying all of that? Under sixty thousand dollars a year.

And it gets worse depending on what industry you’re in. In tech, event planners average about $53,000. In finance, roughly $51,000. In hospitality, where events are literally the core business, planners are averaging around $43,500. These are the industries pouring millions into events, and the people producing them are barely clearing what an entry-level marketing coordinator makes.

Make it make sense. Because I can’t.

And Guess Who They Call When It Falls Apart

Here’s what I see happening every single day that nobody’s talking about.

The internal planners are burned out. The executive assistants who got handed an event on top of their actual job are burned out. The HR teams who are somehow supposed to plan a company retreat, a holiday gala, and a leadership summit on top of everything else on their plate? They’re drowning.

And what do they do? They call companies like mine.

They reach out to independent event production groups and say, “We need help. We can’t do this anymore.” And we step in. Sometimes with a small team of three or four people. Sometimes it’s literally one person managing the entire production. One person handling the venue, the vendors, the timeline, the client communication, the creative direction, the logistics, and the day-of execution. All of it.

And the budget they give us to do all of that? A fraction of what the internal team couldn’t even get done with more people and more resources.

So your internal team is overwhelmed, you outsource the work to us, we produce the entire event with a smaller team and a tighter budget, and then you still want to negotiate our rate down? That’s not cost efficiency. That’s exploitation. And we need to start calling it what it is.

Now Let’s Talk About Who’s Really Getting
Hit the Hardest

I’m going to go here because somebody needs to. And this is Ash Unscripted, so we don’t skip the uncomfortable parts.

This industry is overwhelmingly driven by women. We all know that. And the pay gap reflects exactly what you’d expect.

PCMA’s 2024 Salary Survey showed that women in event planning earned an average of $84,000 compared to $100,000 for their male counterparts. That’s a $16,000 gap. Same work. Same industry. Same stress. Same 50-hour weeks leading up to an event. Sixteen thousand dollars less.

But that’s only part of the picture. Because when we talk about the pay gap in this industry, we can’t just talk about gender. We need to talk about race too.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau and AAUW, Black women working full-time in 2024 earned 65 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. White women earned 77 cents. So even within the gender gap, there’s another gap. Black women aren’t just earning less than men. They’re earning less than their white female counterparts doing the same work. The Economic Policy Institute puts that disparity at roughly $18,900 less per year. And at the current rate of progress, researchers estimate it would take over 200 years to close that gap.

Over 200 years. Just think about that for a second.

Now layer that on top of an industry that already underpays its producers across the board. If the median event planner salary is $59,000 and you’re a Black woman in this field, the math gets even worse. You’re not just fighting to be valued as an event producer. You’re fighting a system that has historically undervalued your work at every level, in every industry, regardless of your qualifications or your results.

And for independent event producers and small production groups, many of which are owned by women of color, the gap is likely even wider because there’s no HR department advocating for pay equity. There’s no corporate salary band protecting you. You’re out here setting your own rates in a market that’s been conditioned to undervalue you before you even walk in the room.

This industry can’t talk about valuing its talent without talking about this. You don’t get to celebrate diversity at your events while underpaying the diverse producers who create them. Yeah, I said it.

Follow the Money

You want to know how this industry really values its people? Don’t listen to what anyone says. Look at where the money goes.

On average, companies put about 14% of their total marketing budget toward event marketing. For enterprise tech companies, that number jumps to 20% to 40% of their entire marketing spend going to conferences and events. We’re not talking pocket change. Companies are investing hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, on a single event.

And honestly, they should be. The data backs it up. 60% of executives say events are the most significant marketing vehicle for hitting company goals. 83% of brands say event marketing has consistently increased their sales. Companies are seeing 10x the ROI from event attendees compared to people who didn’t attend.

So the money is there. The return is proven. But trace the budget line by line and you’ll see the same thing every time. Production company gets their rate. AV gets their rate. Fabrication gets their rate. Tech platform gets their rate. And the event producer? The person who makes all of that actually come together into something that works? Whatever’s left over.

A trillion-dollar industry that somehow can’t figure out how to fairly compensate the people producing the work. That’s not a budget problem. That’s a choice.

Certifications Are Great. But Let’s Be Real.

The industry loves to point at certifications as the answer. “Get your CMP. Get your CSEP. Get your DES.” And look, those credentials can add 10% to 20% to your salary. That’s not nothing.

But let’s talk about what that actually looks like in real life. You’re making $59,000. You get certified. Now you’re at maybe $68,000. You’re still managing million-dollar budgets. Still coordinating 30+ vendors. Still working 50+ hour weeks before every event. Still the first person who gets the call when something falls apart. And you’re still earning less than the graphic designer who made the event’s social media templates.

I’m not knocking certifications. They’re great for professional development. But we have to stop pretending they fix a structural problem. The issue was never that planners aren’t qualified enough. The issue is that this industry doesn’t price our work based on the value we actually deliver.

So Here’s What I Keep Coming Back To

If events are powerful enough to justify trillion-dollar market projections. If 60% of executives are calling them the most important marketing channel. If brands are consistently pulling 3:1 to 5:1 returns on their event investments. Then why are the people producing those results still treated like a cost to cut?

I’ll tell you why. Because this industry was built to get the most out of event producers while paying them the least. And a lot of us accepted it for a long time because we genuinely love the work.

But loving what you do is not a reason to be underpaid for it. Period.

So What Do We Do About It?

I’m not going to sit here and put this all on corporations. We have work to do too.

As event producers, we have to stop pricing ourselves based on what the market has historically paid and start pricing based on the value we bring. We need to lead with data. Tie our work to business outcomes. Show up as strategic producers, not service providers hoping for whatever budget is left. If you’re managing a $500,000 event, your compensation should reflect the scope, the risk, and the accountability you’re carrying.

And for the corporations and clients, I need you to take an honest look at your event budgets. Is the person producing the entire experience being compensated in a way that matches the outcome you’re expecting? If the answer is no, you’re not saving money. You’re creating a risk. Because underpaid, overstretched producers don’t deliver the same results as ones who are resourced, respected, and brought into the conversation early.

This industry is projected to nearly double in the next decade. The growth is there. The demand is there. The investment is there. The only thing missing is the willingness to pay the people who make it all happen what they’re actually worth.

You can’t build a trillion-dollar industry on undervalued talent and expect it to keep performing. Something has to give. And it shouldn’t be the people doing the work.