Women to receive equal pay in 2067

Aug 19 2010

It will take 50 years before pay for men and women is on an equal level

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UK businesses are still more than five decades away from paying men and women equally.

The 2010 National Management Salary Survey, conducted by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR, shows that female salaries increased by 2.8 per cent over the last 12 months, compared to 2.3 per cent for men. However, with the average UK salary for a male manager currently £10,031 more than that of a female manager, women face a 57 year wait before their take-home pay is equal to that of their male colleagues.

Although this year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1970 Equal Pay Act, data collected from 43,312 individuals in 197 organisations reveals that male pay outstrips female pay by as much as 24 per cent at the most senior level.

Even at a junior level the gap still persists with male junior executives receiving £1,065 more than female executives. Across the regions, women in the Midlands fare the worst, taking home £10,434 less while those in the North East fare the best, where the gap is smallest at £8,955.

Looking at different industry sectors, female executives in the IT and pharmaceutical industry experience pay gaps that are higher than any other sectors, at £17,736 and £14,018 respectively.

As well as stark differences in pay, the research reveals a contrast between male and female labour turnover rates, particularly with regard to redundancy. Over the last 12 months 4.5 per cent of the female workforce experienced redundancy, compared to just 3 per cent of men. The difficult economic circumstances combined with unsatisfactory remuneration may also have contributed to a dramatic increase in resignations, particularly at director level where 7.7 per cent of female directors voluntarily left their posts in the last year, compared to just 3.6 per cent of men. Female resignations also increased from 5.3 per cent on the previous year’s figures.

CMI’s head of policy Petra Wilton says: ‘We want to see government take greater steps to enforce pay equality by monitoring organisations more closely and naming and shaming those who fail to pay male and female staff fairly.

‘It’s not just government that needs to act. Competitive businesses need to attract diverse workforces and appeal to the most talented employees. To do this managers and employers need to recruit from a wide talent pool but they cannot expect to attract the UK’s best female talent if they continue to undervalue it.’