HR gender pay gap shrinks as women’s pay rises surge ahead of the men

The gender pay gap for HR directors shrunk this year as female HR chiefs saw their earnings jump by almost three times the as much as their male counterparts.

The 2008-09 Salary Survey of HR/Personnel Staff by pay research specialist Celre found that female HR directors’ overall earnings increased by 11%, well ahead of the male increase of 4.4%.

Women’s salaries are about £5,000 behind men’s for senior HR roles, from director through to section manager, according to the poll.

A separate survey by Celre and the Chartered Management Institute in September suggested that male HR directors earned up to £50,000 more than their female counterparts.

Brad Taylor, head of HR for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, said HR should be leading the way in closing the gender pay gap.

“Closing the gender pay gap is great news for the HR profession, but a truly positive sign would be to see the gap eliminated within the next three years,” he said.

The area to specialise in is employee benefits, as those in that department saw their salaries rise by 6% – although they were also three times as likely to resign.

Women dominated HR administration, occupational health and payroll departments, at a ratio of 4:1, women to men.

The 34th annual Celre survey of HR pay used data collected from 94 organisations.