The number of female managers in the workforce has more than doubled in the past six years, according to research by the Chartered Management Institute. But in terms of average pay, women managers still earn less than men – although women directors have received higher salary increases than their male counterparts.
According to the 2002 National Management Salary Survey, the number of women directors has jumped from one in 10 to one in seven, while the total number of female managers has risen to 30 per cent of the total.
The increase over the past decade can be attributed to more women entering higher education and the growth in the number of couples who are both working. Another reason may well be the decline in the manufacturing sector and rise of service industries, where the qualities of management most often attributed to women are also those associated with the skills needed to succeed in customer-focused and service-oriented organisations.
Those industries reflecting the greatest percentage of women managers (more than 30 per cent) are the public sector, finance and business and the chemicals industry. By function, women are most represented in HR and insurance, where they make up more than 50 per cent of managers overall, and least represented in manufacturing and production, where they make up only around 6 per cent of managers.
Higher pay rises
Women directors received higher salary increases than their male counterparts, according to survey of 25,059 individuals. Comparing salaries and total earnings for men and women managers at all levels, it showed average salary increases for female directors of 9.3 per cent over the last year, against only 5.6 per cent increases for male directors.
Women managers also received higher salary increases than their male colleagues, averaging 6.5 per cent increases against male increases of just 6.1 per cent. Higher salary increases for women could be explained by the fact that there tends to be more women managers in the public rather than private sector: while private sector pay rises have been hit by falling share prices, public sector pay has been boosted by recent investment.
Comparative rates of pay
But at nearly every level of management, women are still earning less than their male equivalents - though the gap is narrowing as their salaries increase faster.
Male directors earned an average £119,126, compared with £94,115 for women. Female junior managers earned 13 per cent less than men - though for senior managers who report directly to directors, women earned slightly more than men: £80,884 compared with £80,803. The lowest levels of management show the widest discrepancy of pay between men and women.
Reasons for this continuing discrepancy may include the fact that, according to this survey, women managers are more likely to achieve senior positions within the public sector, where annual bonuses are not normally paid. Despite the fact that salary levels are increasing more for women, private sector bonuses may still be inflating the total earnings figures for male managers.
| Research for the overall survey, now in its 29th year, was undertaken among 455 organisations, covering 25,059 individuals, by Remuneration Economics. Copies of the report are available, price £585, from Paul Campfield, Remuneration Economics, Survey House, 51 Portland Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2SH, tel: 020 8549 8726; email: [email protected], website: www.celre.co.uk
For further information, contact Sally Lingard or Alison Agmen-Smith., on: 020 7497 0496, Email: [email protected] The Chartered Management Institute www.managers.org.uk, came into being on 1 April 2002, as a result of the Institute of Management being granted a Royal Charter. It shapes and supports the managers of tomorrow, helping them deliver results in a dynamic world. The Institute helps set and raise standards in management, encouraging development to improve performance. |