Female directors are narrowing
the wage gap with their male colleagues, a new survey out today shows.
The annual Directors Rewards
survey from the Institute of Directors (IoD) reveals the pay gap between male
and female directors has shrunk by 5 per cent over the last year. A female
director now earns an average of £59,000, compared with a basic salary of
£70,000 for a male director.
Carried out for the IoD by
Croner Reward, the survey – which is based on a cross-section of IoD members
(excluding those from the FTSE 250) – also shows the average pay increase for
directors in general in 2003 was 3.5 per cent. The modest increase being a
little above inflation and very much in line with the rest of the workforce.
George Cox, director general of
the IoD, said: "On average, the pay increase for directors over the last
12 months was just 3.5 per cent. Encouragingly, 2002/3 also saw the biggest
improvement for 10 years in the pay gap between male and female directors. This
gap now stands at 16 per cent – still significant in the market, but a
substantial improvement on the 32.5 per cent in 1991."
The survey also found that:
● Managing directors in
small companies received an average pay rise of 3.2 per cent and are
forecasting 4 per cent next year
● 26 per cent of non-executive
directors received no increase last year, and of those who did, the average was
4 per cent
● 75 per cent of managing
directors in large companies reported their pay review was based on
performance. This corresponds to 67 per cent in medium-sized companies and 64
per cent in small companies.
● Companies in the South
East pay the average director 12 per cent more than the national rate, while
those in Yorkshire, the North East and East Midlands pay 11-12 per cent below
the national average.
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Steve
Flather, managing director of Croner Reward, said: “With pay increases at 3.5
per cent, they are once again much in line with those for other employee
groups, as indeed has been the case for the last 10 years.”
