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Fashion’s gender pay gap revealed in recent survey

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gender pay gap

Drapers’ Salary Survey 2017 has revealed an average gender pay gap of £22,000 in fashion. Female survey respondents were outnumbered in the top jobs and earned an average of £37,000, compared with £59,000 for men.

The survey of 2,000 retail employees found the disparity was largely driven by men holding more senior positions – just 2% of women fell in the top salary bracket of £100,000 or more, compared with 11% of men.

The trend continued into the next highest salary band of £75,000-£99,999: 3% of women are in this category, compared with 9% of men.

In contrast, 47% of women and 24% of men earn between £20,000 and £34,999. Almost one-tenth (9%) of women earned between £10,000-£19,999, compared with just 3% of men. More than half (54%) of female respondents said they did not receive an end-of-year bonus. For men, this figure sat at 39%.

A study on gender diversity at 44 retailers across a range of sectors, including fashion, published in 2016 by consultancy Elixirr and Women in Retail, found that although 60% of employees were women, only 20% of boardroom executives were female.

The new gender pay gap reporting should help shine a light on issues surrounding pay, forcing retailers to answer for any salary disparity between the amounts male and female employees earn. However, there is still a long way to go before retail executive boards accurately reflect their workforces.

[Words: Draper’s website]

Females make up around 6% of the FTSE100 CEOs, they earn just 4% of the total pay

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Executive Pay

A report from the CIPD and the High Pay Centre published in August 2017 examines FTSE100 CEO pay packages, which show that rewards at the top have dropped by almost a fifth, but still remain extraordinarily high.
The report looks at how CEO pay in the UK’s largest firms has changed between the financial year to 2015 and the financial year to 2016. It finds that over this period, FTSE100 CEO remuneration has fallen by 17%, from £5.4 million.

However, while there has been a significant drop in CEO pay, it would still take the average UK full-time worker on a salary of £28,000 (median full-time earnings) 160 years to earn what an average FTSE100 CEO is paid in just one year. Although the average pay packages of the 25 highest paid CEOs have dropped by 24% to £9.4m in 2016, rewards for the 32 lowest paid chief executives in the FTSE 100 have increased as firms ‘chase the median’.

Female CEOs

As a FTSE100 CEO, it is more likely that your name is David than you being a female. In fact, it is also more likely that your name is Steve or Stephen.
There are eight Davids in the FTSE100 CEO list and seven Steves or Stephens, but just six females in the 2016 cohort (one more than in last year’s).

Males are likely to earn 77% more on average than their female counterparts. Male CEOs in the FTSE100 earned on average £4.7 million last year, compared with £2.6 million on average for women.
So, while females make up around 6% of the FTSE100 CEOs, they earn just 4% of the total pay.

There are 148 females on FTSE100 remuneration committees, an 8% rise from last year, possibly in response to such initiatives as the 30% club and the Davies Review for Women on Board. However, nine firms have no women on their remuneration committees.

Despite increasing female representation on remuneration committees, there are still just 30 female executive directors in the FTSE100. Over three-quarters of FTSE100 companies (77) have no female executive directors.

Financial Services

Financial Services represents the most number of companies in the FTSE100, with 23 companies falling into this sector. The pay ratios for companies in this sector are, in most cases, lower than the average pay ratio for FTSE companies (129:1) due to the relatively high average staff pay in this sector.

 

We all look forward to seeing the Government’s responsible business reforms when they come out later this year.

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Women’s risks greater than men’s

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Women face significant risks across the life course.

  • Women earn less than men, and they are more likely to be in low paid and insecure work.
  • There is an unequal division of caring responsibilities, with women being more likely to be caring for children, for adults, and often both.
  • Women face distinct health risks, and they are more likely to report having suffered from mental health conditions.
  • Women are more at risk from domestic abuse, including domestic violence and financial coercion.
  • Women live longer than men, but they tend to have far lower levels of pension savings.
  • Women require care for a longer period at the end of life, and they face considerably higher care costs as a result.

A new interim report published by The Chartered Insurance Institute presents a snapshot of women’s and men’s risks in life in Britain today, and their resilience to shocks and preparedness for later life.

It is not focused on specific insurance or financial products or services. Rather, it takes a holistic view of life risks in society today, and seeks to glean a better understanding of women’s risks and their exposures. By doing so, it highlights the potential scope for the insurance profession to play a greater role in protecting women, and society as a whole.

As an interim report, it focuses on the key highlights, but recognises that further in-depth analysis, possibly including primary research, may be necessary  to clarify and better understand the issues identified. The key findings of women’s risks in life are summarised under three broad headings in section

Risk & Work – Education, work and pay

Risk & Relationships – Family, relationships and care

Risk & Wellbeing – Health, wellbeing and ageing.

The report also highlights women’s potential risk exposure, which is measured with reference to their financial resilience – that is,  the ability to withstand the impact of risk. The main components of resilience considered are: access to savings, pension savings, assets (excluding property), stable income and absence of debt.

Finally, the Report considers Attitudes and approach to risk, among both women and men.

[Words: taken from the Report]

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Female ambition: Women look to achieve career milestones earlier than men

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A day in the life - What men and women think career success looks like

Infographic by

A study of 2,000 workers by recruitment specialist REED has revealed what signifies ‘career success’ to the UK population.

  • Average salary that signals success is £56,018 according to all workers
  • Almost half of women (48%) want to have achieved career success before the age of 40, compared to 39% of men
  • 1 in 3 (33%) women hope to earn their ideal salary by the age of 35, compared to 1 in 4 (25%) men

Achieving ‘career success’ means earning an annual salary of £56,000 by the age of 40 – more than twice the average salary – according to UK workers. Yet when it comes to the definition of success, female workers have revealed their ambitious side, wanting to achieve key career milestones earlier than men.

And whilst achieving career success is equally important to both men and women (51%), what they perceive as indicators of success, and the age they want to achieve them, reveals some stark contrasts.

The research suggests that women have ambitions to achieve this earlier, with almost half (48%) wanting to have reached career success before the age of 40, compared to 39% of men. And 1 in 3 women (33%) hope to earn their ideal salary by the age of 35, compared to 1 in 4 (25%) men.

Yet when it comes to salary expectations, achieving career success comes with a salary of £54k for women, but according to men, £58k is the magic number.

While women are more ambitious at a younger age, men are more likely to desire the independence and responsibility – and the resulting exposure to risk – of leadership positions. The areas that more men than women associate with career success are being their own boss (4 percentage points higher), being on the board of their company (4 percentage points higher), having a say in their company’s strategy (2 percentage points higher) and owning their own company (2 percentage points higher).

It’s not all about salary

The research by REED found that although the majority of workers (68%) do see a healthy salary as a sign of career success, other indicators of career success have changed. Old-fashioned markers of success such as golf days and business lunches are firmly out of favour, with a desire for a good work-life balance favoured by 75% of workers. Being able to work flexibly is also a sign of success to over a third of workers – 42% of women and 31% of men.

Despite the rise in open-plan offices and hot-desking, getting your own office is still on the list for almost half of UK workers (49%), with 35% wanting a designated parking space. Technology is playing an ever-growing role as a mark of success, with a laptop (45%), iPad (32%) and iPhone (32%) the gadgets workers expect to receive by the age of 34 if they are going to make it to the top.

Both men and women agree that 35 days of paid holiday would be a sign of success – yet with women currently receiving an average of 22 days per year, and men 23, workers are currently falling short of this goal.

Home ownership as an indicator?

During a booming housing market workers are also measuring career success by the age at which they can climb on the property ladder.

Over half of women (51%) believe that owning a house by the age of 35 is a sign of career success, compared to just 43% of men.

Yet the newest generation of workers (18 – 24 year olds) remains optimistic of buying a home by the age of 30, with 39% believing this helps define career success.

Tom Lovell, managing director at REED, says:

Achieving ‘career success’ is deemed important to 51% of workers overall, yet what is most interesting from this research is what they define as indicators of that success and when they wish to achieve it.

With addressing the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling high on the political agenda, it’s particularly interesting that women want to hit key milestones earlier on in their career. Flexibility is also key for them – seemingly more so than men – with 42% of women deeming a sign of career success, compared to just 31% of men.

Interestingly, three quarters of people (76%) don’t think they’ve yet achieved career success, with the average worker saying career success is eight years away. More than half (54%) believe they are not yet on the right path to achieve success.”

Tom added:

In order to make themselves attractive and hold on to the best talent, businesses must look at what matters most to individuals in the workplace and be flexible in their approach to benefits and salary packages.

For candidates, the best way to get on the path to career success is to check you’re in the right role and the right organisation. Consider your benefits, compare your salary to others at your level, and if you’re not being paid enough or think you deserve more, the ideal next step is to see if there are other jobs out there that could better meet your needs. Think about the package as a whole, weighing up factors like holiday, flexibility and ultimately – take home pay.”

Find out how much better off you could be.

The top things in the workplace that UK workers associate with career success are:

ReedCareerSuccess

Randstad survey reveals stark contrast between male and female pay rises

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RanstadReport16

According to new research, women don’t ask for as many pay rises as their male counterparts and are given less pay rises as a results. Research from specialist recruiter, Randstad, reveals that women only average two pay increases in five years compared to three for men.

Despite the gender pay gap being the smallest it has ever been, it seems women are more fearful of asking for pay rises, according to the survey of 2000 employees. There is also a lingering perception across some industries that men are paid more than women.

In finance and professional services, 72% of men in London believe they are paid more than women. However, 79% of men in construction and engineering believe they are paid equally though almost half of the women asked disagreed, believing men are paid more.

When reflecting on these findings, Randstad Middle East and UK MD, Mark Bull, said:

Employers are working hard to promote equal pay and encourage women across all industries but there is still work to be done.

The pay gap may be the narrowest it has ever been but it still exists, and it seems women remain more reluctant than their male counterparts to ask for a raise.

The workers, who were picked from a wide range of sectors, felt a number of issues held women back, with 35% citing employer attitudes as the top factor. Many of the respondents also said there was a still a glass ceiling in place in some industries, particularly for women and minorities. A further 47% said not enough is being done to encourage women into the top jobs.

The research also revealed that women tend to ask for fewer pay rises – only a fifth had asked for one in the last three years compared to a third of men. The top reason given for not asking for a raise was fear of being turned down (35%) or jeopardising their current job. This was closely followed by worry over their boss’s reaction (34%), the thought of having to work longer hours after promotion (15%) and other people’s attitudes (14%).

Mr Bull said:

It makes sound business sense for companies to address the issues still facing women in the workplace, including closing the pay gap, providing ongoing support for progression and rewards for achievements.

Companies that do promote women and actively help them progress are giving themselves access to a greater pool of talent, making the most of their workforce, boosting growth and positively affecting their bottom line.

Improvements therefore need to be made to the way companies reveal their pay structures and more needs to be done to ensure there is further transparency in the workplace. This is likely to be supported by proposed government legislation which will compel companies with more than 250 employees to publish the average difference between male and female pay.

Read the full report along with concise industry breakdowns.

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