Feminine board members at FTSE 100 corporations are paid 69% lower than their male counterparts, underscoring the persistent gender pay hole on the highest ranges of British enterprise.
In keeping with analysis by Fox & Companions, the employment and partnership legislation specialists, girls in board roles took dwelling a mean of £335,953 final yr, in contrast with £1,073,445 for males. Whereas this marks a slight enchancment from a 70% hole in 2022, it stays considerably wider than the 13.1% gender pay hole throughout the broader UK labour market, as reported by the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics in April 2024.
Catriona Watt, associate at Fox & Companions, mentioned: “It’s encouraging to see the gender pay gap has slightly shrunk over the past year for directors of the UK’s largest businesses, but obviously the figures show that there is still a considerable way to go.”
A key issue contributing to the disparity is the focus of girls in non-executive director positions. The analysis discovered that 91% of feminine administrators maintain non-executive roles, which generally include much less duty and decrease remuneration in comparison with full-time govt positions. In distinction, males are extra regularly appointed to higher-paying govt roles and senior non-executive positions similar to chair.
Amongst govt administrators, the pay hole stands at 29.8%, with feminine executives incomes a mean of £2,332,334 in comparison with £3,150,424 for his or her male counterparts. Girls additionally earn much less in non-executive roles, with feminine non-executive administrators paid a mean of £127,593, whereas males obtain £191,381—a niche of 40%.
Girls stay underrepresented in probably the most senior positions inside the UK’s largest listed corporations. At present, solely 9 FTSE 100 corporations are led by feminine chief executives, together with Margherita Della Valle at Vodafone and Dame Emma Walmsley at GSK. Allison Kirkby not too long ago turned the newest feminine chief govt after taking the helm at BT.
“We noted several years ago that listed companies were achieving boardroom gender diversity almost exclusively by appointing women to non-exec roles rather than executive roles,” Watt noticed. “That flattered their figures but meant that women were still largely excluded from the arguably most important and most highly paid corporate jobs.”
Nevertheless, there are indicators of progress. The variety of feminine govt administrators elevated to 43 in 2023, up from 39 the earlier yr. Watt emphasised that the UK’s main corporations ought to proceed to spend money on selling feminine alternatives, mentoring, and cultural change to make “a significant impact on the gender pay gap”
