Research released by the Chartered Management Institute and XpertHR reveals that men are more likely than women to have been promoted into senior and higher paying management roles in the past year, with no progress made on reducing the 23% gender pay gap.
The data reveal that male managers are 40% more likely than female managers to be promoted into higher roles.
Analysis of salary data of more than 60,000 UK employees found that in the past year, 14% of men in management roles were promoted into higher positions, compared to just 10% of women.
Even allowing for staff turnover, men continue to be promoted ahead of women in management roles. The data reveal that for managers who have stayed with the same employer for the last five years, 47% of men were promoted, compared to 39% of women.
The difference in promotion rates is one of the main causes of the gender pay gap, which remains largely unchanged this year at 23.1% compared to 22.8% in 2015.
The average full-time equivalent salary for male managers now stands at ยฃ38,817 โ ยฃ8,964 more than the average female managerโs. The pay gap is even higher for those in the ranks of director and CEO, with men on an average basic salary of ยฃ131,673, earning ยฃ16,513 more than women at the same level.
In November 2015, the Government announced plans for new legislation to tackle the gender pay gap, including making it compulsory for large companies to report on the pay gap between their male and female staff. The regulations are due to come into effect in April 2017.
Ann Francke, Chief Executive of CMI the imminent pay reporting regulations will focus employers on closing the gender pay gap in their organisations: โPromoting men ahead of women is keeping us all back. Diversity delivers better financial results, better culture and better decision making. Even before the new regulations kick in, employers need to get on board with reporting on their recruitment and promotion policies and how much they pay their men and women. Transparency and targets are what we need to deal with stubborn problems like the gender pay gap.โ
In other findings, there are also fewer women in executive positions than men. While women comprise 73% of the workforce in entry and junior level roles, female representation drops to 42% at the level of senior management. Just 32% of director-level posts are held by women.
Mark Crail, Content Director at XpertHR adds: โThe gender pay gap is not primarily about men and women being paid differently for doing the same job. Itโs much more about men being present in greater numbers than women the higher up the organisation you go. Our research shows that this gap begins to open up at relatively junior levels and widens โ primarily because men are more likely to be promoted.โ
Menโs pay further outstrips that of womenโs because of a โbonus gapโ. In the past year, 43% of men received an annual bonus compared to 36% of women. The average menโs bonus stands at ยฃ5398 compared to womenโs ยฃ2764. For more senior roles the gap grows, with 54% of male senior managers receiving a bonus compared to 38% females of the same level of seniority. At this level, men command an average bonus of ยฃ22,687 compared to womenโs ยฃ13,699.
The public service sector has the overall lowest gender pay gap of 16%, compared to 23% in the private sector. The highest pay gaps are in the manufacturing and not-for-profit sectors, at 24% and 25% respectively.
Employers can start preparing for the gender pay reporting regulations by following CMIโs how-to guide a managers.org.uk/mindthepaygap.
Join the conversation on Twitter @cmi_managers #MindThePayGap.
