Recent far-reaching Government reporting requirements on measuring how much men and women are paid have revealed that the gender pay gap for the UK's 3.3 million managers is nearly £3,000 wider than previously reported.
That's the significant finding from a major analysis of managers' salaries conducted by the professional management and leadership body, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), in conjunction with XpertHR, the employment intelligence service.
Government-reporting regulations, introduced in April 2017, force employers with more than 250 workers to disclose publicly the size of their gender pay gap. According to research, the gender pay gap as calculated under these regulations stands at 26.6%, with male managers on average out-earning female peers by £11,606 a year. This includes salary and bonuses, as well as perks such as car allowance and comission.
Previous analyses of the pay gap based on managers' basic salaries had put the gap at 23.1% in 2016, a cash equivalent worth £8,964. Even without applying the new calculations, this year's data show that the basic salary gap is, if anything, slightly worse at 23.6% or £9,326.
This year's analysis scrutinised remuneration data for over 118,385 managers from 425 organisations. It suggested that while salary and bonuses are picking up for both men and women, the benefits are going disproportionately to men. Male directors picked up a 5.8% increase in pay and bonuses, compared to 3.7% for women.
According to the CMI, pressure has been building on companies to not only follow the new regulations in disclosing gender pay,but alsoto publish an action plan detailing practical steps they are proposing to close the gap.
The CMI's chief executive, Ann Francke, commented that "too many businesses are like 'glass pyramids' with women holding the majority of lower-paid junior roles and far fewer reaching the top".
XpertHR director, Mark Crail, said that "some people have tried to explain the gender pay gap away as being the result of different working hours or individual career choices". "but when the analysis is based on the pay of more than 100,000 individuals it is clear that the pay gap is a fact of life for UK managers."
Even if your firm doesn't meet the size criteria for the new regulations, this is an issue every business needs to confront.
