Female managers may have finally closed the pay gap but are more likely to resign than their male counterparts, according to research conducted by the Chartered Management Institute and Remuneration Economics.
The National Management Salary Survey 2003, reveals that despite higher levels of pay, the turnover of management-level staff is still high.
The findings released today show that for the seventh year running women managers received higher salary increases (5.9%) compared to men (5.0%). The increase in pay means that the average female department manager is now earning just £475 less than her male counterpart (£53,257 compared to £53,732).
However, parity in pay does not necessarily equate to job satisfaction. Annual labour turnover amongst UK managers is 10.8%, but the research reveals that more women (6.4%) than men (3.3%) are walking away from their jobs. The majority of women move voluntarily, with less than 2% leaving because of redundancy or retirement.
Commenting on the findings, Karen Charlesworth, head of research at the Chartered Management Institute, says: “The closure of the pay gap may be due to an increasing number of women managers working in higher-paid disciplines. There are certainly more women leading teams within functions such as finance and marketing compared to this time last year.” However, she added: “It will still be some years before the UK achieves parity between men and women in management positions. It’s a situation that many employers need to address as they cannot afford to miss out on the talents of half the workforce.”
Women managers working in research and development earn more than their female counterparts in personnel, marketing and actuarial roles. They also earn more, on average, in research and development (£42,092) than their male colleagues (£40,473).
Compared to the same time last year, the functions with the most improved earnings potential for female managers are research and development and IT. Purchasing and sales are the only two disciplines which have remained unchanged.
The research was conducted amongst a representative sample of 21,000 individuals covering over 400 organisations.
