Gender pay gap between London executives

Male executives in London earn significantly more than their female peers, with new figures suggesting the gender pay gap is still very much in place.

Female executives are paid an average of £42,517 a year in the capital, but men doing the same job pick up an annual paycheck of £53,646, according to figures released by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). The 2011 National Management Salary Survey shows the gender pay gap is now £11,129 in London.

The salaries of male and female executives in the capital are increasing at an equal rate of 1.8%, according to the survey of 13,427 workers in London.

“We need the Government to scrutinise organisational pay, demand more transparency from companies on pay bandings and publicly expose organisations found guilty of fuelling the gender pay gap”

Marc Spillman, London business manager, CMI

However, junior female executives are currently earning £29,515 per annum, some £3,896 a year more than the average salary of £25,619 picked up by junior male executives, the figures collected by XpertHR show.

Responding to the report, CMI’s London business manager Marc Spillman said: “While CMI is delighted that London junior female executives have caught up with males at the same level, this year’s Salary Survey demonstrates, yet again, that businesses in the capital are contributing to the persistent gender pay gap and alienating top female employees by continuing to pay men and women unequally.

“This kind of bad management is damaging UK businesses and must be addressed,” he added.

London has the third largest gender pay gap of the UK regions, behind Northern Ireland (£13,793) and the Midlands (£11,346). But the London female executive’s average salary of £42,517 is higher than any other region in the UK and dwarfs the £21,994 that women working at the same level in East Anglia take home.

Spillman believes more should be done to close the gender pay gap. He said: “It is the responsibility of every executive – both female and male, organisation and the Government to help bring about change.

“Diversity shouldn’t be seen as something that has to be accommodated, but something that must be celebrated. Imposing mandatory quotas and forcing organisations to reveal salaries is not the solution,” he said. “We need the Government to scrutinise organisational pay, demand more transparency from companies on pay bandings and publicly expose organisations found guilty of fuelling the gender pay gap.

“They and employers must ensure that women are nurtured and supported at work, and can access development opportunities to help them on their way to senior management positions. We want to see mentoring and sponsorship programmes in more businesses and industries and more female executives pushing their employers to formalise and publicise equal pay and opportunity policies,” said Spillman.