Female board members at FTSE 100 companies are paid 69% less than their male counterparts, underscoring the persistent gender pay gap at the highest levels of British companies.
According to research by Fox & Partners, which specializes in employment and partnership law, women in board positions earned an average of £335,953 last year, compared to £1,073,445 for men. While this represents a slight improvement from a gap of 70% in 2022, it is still much wider than the 13.1% gender pay gap in the wider UK labor market, as reported by the Office for National Statistics in April 2024.
Catriona Watt, partner at Fox & Partners, said: “It is encouraging to see that the gender pay gap has narrowed slightly over the past year for directors of the UK’s largest companies, but it is clear that the figures show there is still a long way to go.” “
A major factor contributing to this disparity is the concentration of women in non-executive director positions. The research found that 91% of female directors hold non-executive positions, which typically come with fewer responsibilities and lower pay compared to full-time executive positions. In contrast, men are more often appointed to higher-paid executive positions and more senior non-executive positions such as president.
Among CEOs, the pay gap is 29.8%, with female CEOs earning an average of £2,332,334 compared to £3,150,424 for their male counterparts. Women are also paid less in non-executive roles, with female non-executive directors paid an average of £127,593, while men earn £191,381, a 40% difference.
Women remain underrepresented in the highest positions in the UK’s largest listed companies. Currently, only nine FTSE 100 companies have female CEOs, including Margherita Della Valle at Vodafone and Dame Emma Walmsley at GlaxoSmithKline. Alison Kirkby recently became the newest female CEO after taking over at the helm of BT.
“We have observed for several years that listed companies have been achieving gender diversity on boards almost exclusively by appointing women to non-executive rather than executive roles,” Watt noted. “This has flattered their numbers, but it means that women are still largely excluded from the most important and highest-paid jobs in companies.”
However, there are signs of progress. The number of female CEOs increased to 43 in 2023, compared to 39 the previous year. Watt stressed that leading UK companies must continue to invest in promoting women’s opportunities, mentoring and cultural change to make a “significant impact on the gender pay gap”.