Survey Results Revealed: Gender Pay Gap

October 29th 2015 | Posted by phil scott

FDs report that gender-pay-gap persists

A new study of the UK’s top finance directors has revealed that females in the workplace are still struggling to achieve the same opportunities to advance as their male colleagues.

The latest FD Recruit survey polled hundreds of FDs and CFOs throughout the country across a range of industries and found that while the gap in like-for-like pay was closing, female FDs say their chances of promotion are hindered by their gender.

When regional variations were accounted for, finance professionals of both genders reported broadly similar incomes, though females did fare marginally worse. The findings mirror that of accounting giant Deloitte, which earlier in the year reported that its female staff earned an average of 1.5% less than male colleagues doing the same job.

However, it was in the opportunities to advance their career that females reported they were at the biggest disadvantage, with seven in ten (73%) stating that they felt they had been passed over for promotions and job offers, meaning that overall career earnings are likely to be lower.

Phil Scott, director of FD Recruit which undertook the survey, said: “While it is good to see that FDs and CFOs have gone a long way to closing the gender-pay-gap for like-for-like roles, it is disheartening to see that females feel they still lack the same opportunities as men.

“As an organisation which specialises in the recruitment and placements of FDs and CFOs into business, we have never found gender to be any sort of indicator of performance, capability or long-term value to an employer. An organisation that overlooks a candidate with a strong CV because of their gender is putting itself at a big disadvantage, too.”

The problem is likely exacerbated by the fact that a majority of the FDs and CFOs (55%) said that they felt gender-based pay issues were not a problem in their industry – even in cases where the individual themselves had reported being at a disadvantage recently.

Phil Scott added: “David Cameron’s new policy, which will come into force next year and dictate that all large companies publish their pay data, will hopefully bring attention to the issues and help affect change. But it’s a complex problem and more needs to be done to help level the playing field.”