A new survey from the CMI has revealed the breakdown in the gender pay gap.
A new survey from the CMI has shown that for the first time since their records began female junior executives are earning the same amount as their male counterparts. The survey looked at the average salaries of 34,158 executives across the UK and found that female junior executives on average earned £21,969 whilst their male counterpart on average earned £21,367.
However, despite this promising figure, a look across all seniority levels shows that on average men are still paid more than women who perform the same jobs, revealing a pay gap of £10,546. This persistent gap means that, despite the fact that salaries for female executives as a whole are currently increasing faster than those of their male counterparts (female salaries increased by 2.4% during the 12 months between February 2010 to February 2011, a 0.3% higher rate of increase than for male salaries), if male and female salaries continued to increase at current rates, it would be 2109 – 98 years – before the average salary for female executives catches up with that of their male peers.
Commenting on the report, Maxine Benson, co-founder of everywoman, said:
“This is how it should be, of course. Women should be getting equal pay when they’re doing the same job as men and it is wonderful to see this actually happening. Even if women start at the same pay level at the beginning of their careers, they can’t automatically assume that will be the case as they progress. Will they be on the same rates of pay in the more senior positions when they are outnumbered by men?
“The CMI’s report says that at the rate we’re progressing it will take 98 years for women to earn the same average salary as their male peers. Obviously we need companies to become more transparent with their pay bandings, but women also need to take some responsibility for their careers. They need to be confident in their abilities, know the value they bring to the business, be comfortable with having the tough conversations and bolder when negotiating. The importance of networking, both cross-company and cross-industry, is so important for increasing women’s awareness and knowledge of their worth in the marketplace. We encourage women to continue to build their networks and invest in gaining the skills they need to have these salary conversations. Taking this positive action, together with finding a mentor, will help close this gender imbalance in salaries.”
The research also showed that redundancy rates between men and women had equalised with 2.2% of male and female executives being made redundant between February 2010 and February 2011. This however, as with pay the gap, widened the higher up the executive was. The survey showed that at function head level, women are almost twice as likely as men to have been made redundant (2.7% of male function heads were made redundant compared to 4.9% of female function heads), whilst almost five times as many female directors as male directors lost their jobs (0.6% of men compared to 2.9% of women).
Phillippa Williamson, CMI Companion and Chief Executive of the Serious Fraud Office, said:
“As an employer, it’s frustrating that, at a time when things are still very tough for UK organisations, business leaders are missing a trick by not ensuring they pay their employees fairly. Companies that refuse to prove to talented women that they will be valued and rewarded as much as men won’t be able to recruit or retain the best employees and risk losing them to competitors. There is a clear business case for equal pay; evidence shows that companies where women are well represented at every organisational level from board level down perform better. Organisational performance will be improved by ensuring high quality managers and leaders are in place; gender shouldn’t come into it.”
www.managers.org.uk
www.everywoman.com