Sex bias on bonuses costs women £150k

HIGH-flying women will typically be paid around £142,000 less in bonuses than a man doing exactly the same job, a damning report reveals today. The authoritative study lays bare the raw deal handed out to female executives in British workplaces. Overall, a woman working from the age of 26 to 60 on an executive career path, rising from junior manager to director, will receive bonuses totalling £109,492. But this is less than half the total for a man doing the same type of job at the same level over the same length career. His bonuses will total £ 251,075, according to the Chartered Management Institute. The difference was revealed in its annual salary survey out today based on the experiences of 43,201 managers and directors. To make matter worse, women high-flyers are also less likely to get a bonus in the first place. For example, 52 per of male directors were paid a bonus in the past year compared to 42 per cent of female directors. The woman’s salary is also typically much lower, despite the fact that she might work harder and achieve more than her male counterparts. The ‘lifetime earnings gap’ – the difference in salary over their 34-year-long career – is around £390,000, according to data from 17,800 of same group of managers. ‘Even without taking bonuses into account, the data shows that the gender pay gap increases with each rung of the management ladder,’ warns the study. For the three age ranges examined by the CMI – 26 to 35, 36 to 45 and 46 to 60 –a man’s salary is typically higher than his female counterpart. The gap is initially quite small, with a man in the first band earning an average salary of £30,259 while a woman earns £28,655. But then the gap widens rapidly. For those aged 46 to 60, a senior male executive is typically earning £49,429, while a woman receives on average £31,024. Yesterday Maria Miller, Minister for Women, said: These ‘ figures are yet another damaging example highlighting that women still lose out and that the playing field is far from equal. Changes are happening but there is still more to do before we see full equality.’ Mark Crail, head of salary surveys at XpertHR, which carried out the research, said: ‘There is no good reason for men to still be earning more in bonuses than women when they are in very similar jobs.’ Ann Francke, head of the CMI, said she is saddened and frustrated not only by the gender pay gap but by the lack of women rising to the top. She said those starting out needed inspiration from role models, especially mothers, who have achieved ‘attainable’ success rather than being overwhelmed by a glittering few. Mrs Francke cited Angela Ahrendts, chief executive of Burberry, whose £16.9million deal made her the best-paid person to run a FTSE 100 firm last year. ‘Girls are confronted by these female superstars,’ she said. They need to see ‘ normal- sized success rather than the stratospheric kind.’