The research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR found that, in the last year, men were continually promoted at a higher rate than women.
Out of 60,000 UK employees surveyed, 14 percent of male managers were given higher positions compared to 10 percent of women.
The CMI found the difference in promotion rates was one of the main causes of the gender pay gap, which remained largely unchanged this year for managers – at 23.1 percent compared to 22.8 percent in 2015.
For directors and CEOs, men earn an average basic salary of £131,673 – which is £16,513 more than women at the same level.
Ann Francke, chief executive of CMI, said:
“Promoting men ahead of women is keeping us all back. 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.”
In November 2015, the Government announced plans for new legislation to tackle the gender pay gap, including making it compulsory for large companies to report on how much they pay their male and female staff. The regulations are due to come into effect in April 2017.
Aside from the gender pay gap there is also a “bonus gap” – in the past year, 43 percent of men received an annual bonus compared to 36 percent of women.
The public service sector has the overall lowest gender pay gap of 16 per cent compared to 23 per cent in the private sector.
The highest pay gaps are in the manufacturing and not-for-profit sectors, at 24 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
