The professions of privacy, artificial intelligence governance, and digital responsibility are experiencing rapid and multifaceted evolution requiring the navigation of a significantly more complex landscape than ever before. Several converging factors are increasing this complexity.
The global regulatory environment is becoming increasingly fragmented, necessitating constant monitoring and adaptation to growing diverse compliance requirements. Evolving legal precedents add another layer of complexity, continuously shaping legal obligations and influencing how organizations handle personal data. Evolving guidance and enforcement actions from regulators worldwide further require careful interpretation and implementation.
Rapid technological advancements including AI, Internet of Things, and, looking ahead, quantum computing, introduce novel privacy challenges requiring a greater technological mastery from the digital governance professional. All these challenges continue to exist alongside continued economic challenges that require professionals to deliver increasingly successful compliance outcomes on tightening budgets. It's no surprise digital governance professionals may be left questioning whether their compensation adequately reflects the growing scope of their responsibilities and the escalating risks they manage.
We have, therefore, launched the 2025 IAPP Salary Survey, building on the last survey launched in 2022. That survey had more than 1,400 responses from over 60 countries, with several headlines. Overall, the average base salary in 2023 was up by 7% from 2021 to USD146,200. Unsurprisingly, the highest average base salary was earned by global CPOs at USD206,000 followed closely by external facing privacy lawyers earning USD200,800. Privacy professionals were also well rewarded for their ongoing efforts, with nearly eight in 10 respondents receiving a raise and almost seven in 10 receiving a bonus. As a result, an overwhelming number of privacy pros identified they were satisfied with their current role — 86% satisfied. However, 72% of respondents identified they would move jobs for a pay increase, 42% would move for career progression purposes and 31% for an improved role and responsibilities.
To what extent has compensation kept up with the added responsibilities across domains such as AI governance, data governance, data ethics and other digital governance domains?
This year, we are conducting a new salary survey to answer this very question. The salary survey report to be published later this year will explore several topics:
- How does compensation vary among those who solely work on AI governance or privacy compared to those who work on both AI governance and privacy? Are employees with more diverse experience and skills considered more valuable to an organization and compensated according?
- Are employees with more certifications better able to demonstrate their competence and command a larger compensation package?
- To what extent are employers rewarding loyalty by offering raises to those employees who remain in their role or are those employees who move roles more likely to have had a greater raise in their compensation?
We are looking forward to analyzing this year's data to provide you with the insights to understand your and your organization's compensation package and benchmark this against others in the market.
Saz Kanthasamy, CIPP/E, CIPM, FIP is the principal researcher, privacy management at the IAPP.
