News In Focus
9 April 2009
Gender pay gap in finance sector about twice national average
Women working in Britain’s finance sector earn up to 60% less than men, according to a report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
In the financial services sector as a whole, female full-time employees receive 55% less annual gross pay and 39% less hourly gross pay than men. These pay gaps are about double the pay gap figures for the economy as a whole.
The biggest pay gap was for women working full time in fund management, stock broking and futures trading, who earn on average 60% less annual gross salary than men. The report also points to a 79% gender pay gap for annual incentive pay for full-time workers in finance.
The Commission said the pay gaps point to the extent to which women hold lower-status, lower-pay jobs in finance, even though there are equal numbers of men and women in the sector as a whole. Only 28% of those working in professional occupations and 11% of senior managers are women.
Commission Chair Trevor Phillips said the figures were shocking. “The truth is that however you look at the numbers, women do not have equal status or equal rewards. Nobody wants this kind of unfairness, including the businesses themselves. We are losing or not taking advantage of talented women from a crucial industry – something we can ill afford in these troubled times.”
He called on the Government to take significant steps towards addressing gender pay gaps in the upcoming Equality Bill. “The Government has already said it will increase transparency by banning ‘gagging’ clauses, which prevent people discussing their pay, but we also want the Government to ask larger companies to have a much more transparent approach to the pay gap.”
The report is the first stage of the Commission’s inquiry into pay rates in the finance sector, which begins its formal evidence gathering stage this week. The Commission is calling for evidence from organisations including employers, trades unions, staff associations, regulators, employees and ex-employees, solicitors and legal advisers.
Click here to download the full report.