The gender pay gap for FTSE 100 board members widened last year, with women directors receiving 74% less than men, according to a study. This figure was 73% the year before.
Furthermore, the average pay for male directors grew by 7% (£59,000) in the last 12 months, whereas female FTSE 100 directors saw an average pay rise of only 4% (£9,000).
Women on FTSE 100 boards are paid on average £245,000 annually compared to men who receive £935,000, according to research by Mattison Public Relations.
Executive and non-executive roles
Mattison Public Relations say the boardroom gender gap is down to men dominating the higher-paid executive directorship roles. The study found women in just 14% of the 238 executive roles featured in the FTSE 100.
The average FTSE 100 executive director is now paid £2.7m compared to £137,000 for non-executives.
Women account for 43% of 896 non-executive director roles, however, they are still paid an average of £101,000 compared to the average male non-executive director salary of £166,000.
Maria Hughes, Director at Mattison Public Relations, said: “Businesses want to communicate their commitment to diversity, but excluding women from executive board positions isn’t going to do that in 2022.”
“The way a business communicates its diversity has become a very important issue for many stakeholders, from shareholders to customers. Having female senior executives is a much more powerful way to communicate that a business is taking diversity seriously.”
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“Businesses must appoint women to their senior executive teams and enable women to progress through the ranks more quickly if they want to be perceived as taking this seriously as opposed to box-ticking.”
The highest-paid female director in the FTSE 100 last year was Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline. The highest paid male director was Sébastien de Montessus, CEO of Endeavour Mining, who received total remuneration of £17.5m.
