Female boards slash bosses’ pay

COMPANIES with more women on their boards were increasingly likely to slash executive pay during the pandemic.

Fewer than half of firms worth more than £500m or more made cuts, according to a study by the High Pay Centre think tank. Cost-cutting measures saw 104 out of 216 firms worth £500m or more take at least one measure to save money on pay between March and May 2020.

The most common measure was to trim executive salaries by 10pc to 20pc. But companies that cut pay by 25pc to 40pc had on average 3.5 female directors on their board. This compared to slightly more than two female directors for those that made no reductions.

The research analysed statements from major companies to the stock market.

High Pay Centre director Luke Hildyard said: ‘Willingness to cut executive pay during the pandemic is potentially a good indicator of socially responsible business decision making more generally.’