- Narrowing Gender Pay Gap: Female FTSE 100 Executives Approach Parity
- Earnings of Female CEOs Catching Up: Average Compensation Reaches £4 Million
- Progress and Challenges: Female Representation in Corporate Leadership
Last year, female FTSE 100 executives came close to breaking the glass ceiling as the pay disparity between them and their male counterparts narrowed.
The eight women who led blue-chip companies last year, including Dame Emma Walmsley of GlaxoSmithKline and Amanda Blanc of Aviva, earned an average of £4 million. In comparison, males earn £4.3 million.
In the previous year, the pay gap was much greater, with female executives earning £3.7 million compared to £4.7 million for males.
While most would find the earnings of female chief executives to be enviable, they have consistently lagged behind those of their male counterparts. The findings stem from an investigation by The Mail on Sunday’s Fat Cat Files into compensation at the highest echelons of corporate Britain. This revealed that the average compensation for a chief executive last year was £4.2 million.
After years of campaigning for greater female representation in senior positions and for equal pay, the figures will be encouraging for the City.
Five years ago, there were significantly more men named Dave and Steve operating Footsie companies than women.
In 2018, there were six women in executive positions, seven Davids, and seven Stephens.
The lone woman in the top 20 highest-paid executives was Walmsley, 54, the highest-paid female CEO.
Pascal Soriot, CEO of rival pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, headed the list with a salary of £15.3 million.
Blanc, 56, earned £3 million as Aviva CEO, while Rose, 54, earned £5.2 million as NatWest CEO until last month.
The Ministry of State analyzed the annual profits of the eight female CEOs of blue-chip companies. We excluded investment trust heads, who, despite being listed on the Footsie, have different pay structures and smaller awards.
Ministers have set a target of 40 percent female representation in FTSE 350 boardrooms by 2025.
Women held 40.2% of director posts in 2022, three years ahead of schedule, according to February data.
Less than 13 percent of positions were held by women a decade ago, prompting campaigns led by prominent City figures such as financier Dame Helena Morrissey.
However, concerns remain that the majority of roles held by women are non-executive directorships. The number of people in executive decision-making positions continues to lag. Dr. Michelle Tessaro, executive doctoral researcher at Cranfield School of Management, said there is still more to do.
She stated, “The real problem is that the number of women in CEO positions remains stubbornly low, at less than 10 percent.”
The executive pipeline continues to favour male candidates for senior jobs.
Bloomberg reports that women in financial services earn, on average, only three-quarters of the salaries paid to their male counterparts.
