Men still dominating in the boardroom

Published on Wednesday 29 July 2009 21:58

UK COMPANIES have ten times as many male managing directors as women and often give them bigger salaries, according to new research today.

Women were promoted to senior positions at a younger age than men, but were less likely to hold on to top jobs, said executive jobs website Experteer.

A study of 18,000 executive jobseekers showed there were ten times fewer female managing directors and they were paid on average 13,000 less than their male counterparts.

The biggest gender wage gap was in the media, with female executives paid a third less than men, although other sectors also had "significant" pay differences, including medicine (27 per cent), transport and tourism (17 per cent), finance (13 per cent) and the public sector (11 per cent), said the report.

Torsten Muth, managing director of Experteer.co.uk, said: "These figures raise some serious questions about sexual equality in the workplace. While the UK is ahead of the rest of Europe, it is clear that talent is not the only factor in determining salaries and career progression."

The study came after an official report yesterday said the government's "lack of action" in breaking down stereotypes in schools was partly to blame for the gender pay gap.

Progress in narrowing the wage difference was "stalling" and ministers should do more to change the culture in the education system to encourage girls to opt for non-traditional jobs, the Women and Work Commission said.

The group, set up by Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister in 2004 to review the gender pay gap and other employment issues facing women, called on the government to do more to promote quality flexible work.

The commission put the gender pay gap at 22.6 per cent, which it said was worse than in 2007, when women were paid 21.9 per cent less per hour.

The commission, whose members are drawn from employers and unions, said job segregation was still the norm, with women dominating caring, cashiering, clerical, cleaning and catering sectors.

Baroness Prosser, the chairwoman, said: "Ministers must match commitment with fundamental change that will make a real difference"