The gender pay gap between male and female mangers of all ages is £9,069 a year, according to research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Its annual National management salary survey, which has been published in conjunction with salary specialists XpertHR and draws on data covering 68,000 UK employees, found that the average salary is currently recorded as £39,461 for men and £30,392 for women.
This means that women earn three-quarters (77%) of what men in full-time comparable jobs earn, equating to a 23% gender pay gap.
This gap widens for women aged between 40 and 60 who, on average, earn 35% (£16,680) a year less than their male counterparts.
The research also found that a female manager would have to work until they are nearly 80 in order to earn the same as a male manager over their career.
Averaged across all levels, annual pay increases for men and women are equal at 2.3%. However, inequalities are particularly obvious at more senior levels where male directors’ basic salaries increase by 2.7% compared to 1.9% for women.
Female managers are also worse off when bonuses are given out. The average bonus for a female director stands at £41,956, while male directors received an average payout worth £53,010.
Ann Francke (pictured), chief executive of the CMI, said: “Lower levels of pay for women managers cannot be justified, yet our extensive data shows the pay gap persists, with many women hit by a mid-life pay crisis.
“Women and men should be paid on the basis of their performance in their particular roles, but this is clearly not yet the case for far too many.
“It’s not right that women would have to work until almost 80 for the same pay rewards as men.
“We have to stamp out cultures that excuse this as the result of time out for motherhood and tackle gender bias in pay policies that put too much emphasis on time served.”
