Male managers are 40% more likely than female managers to be promoted, according to data from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR.
Analysis of salary data of more than 60,000 UK employees found that in the past year, 14% of men in management roles were promoted, compared with only 10% of women.
The average full-time equivalent salary for male managers now stands at £38,817, £8,964 more than the average female manager’s (£29,853). The pay gap is even higher for those at director and CEO level, with men on an average basic salary of £131,673 earning £16,513 more than women at the same level (£115,160).
Men’s pay further outstrips that of women’s as a result of a ‘bonus gap'. In the past year 43% of men received an annual bonus, compared with 36% of women. The average man’s bonus stands at £5,398, compared with the average woman’s of £2,764.
For more senior roles the gap grows, with 54% of male senior managers receiving a bonus, compared with 38% of females at the same tier of seniority. At this level men command an average bonus of £22,687, compared with women’s £13,699.
Ann Francke, chief executive of the CMI, said that the imminent gender pay reporting regulations will focus employers on closing the gap at their organisations.
“Promoting men ahead of women is keeping us all back,” she said. “Diversity delivers better financial results, better culture and better decision-making. Even before the new regulations kick in, employers need to get on board with reporting on their recruitment and promotion policies and how much they pay their men and women. Transparency and targets are what we need to deal with stubborn problems like the gender pay gap.”
Separate research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that women in paid work earn on average 18% less per hour than men. This gap is said to widen consistently for 12 years after their first child is born, growing to 33% of men's hourly rates.
Echoing the CMI's findings, the report says that women tend to miss out on promotions after childbirth. Taking time out of the workplace to raise children also means they get less experience than men, holding back their earnings potential. The report finds this gap affects highly educated women more.
Speaking on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 about the IFS report, the director of Business in the Community's gender campaign Kathryn Nawrockyi said employers need to incentivise fathers to take more time out with their families, by using shared parental leave for example, to make sure "the penalty doesn't just fall on mothers".
She added that the "gender pay gap isn't just about unequal pay", saying there are multiple other cultural issues that need to be addressed to ensure women and mothers are given equal opportunities in the workplace.
