• Gender pay gap narrows from 70% in 2022 to 69% in 2023
• But men still earning more in both executive and non-executive director roles

The gender pay gap for board members of FTSE 100 companies has narrowed over the past year with the average pay for women (£335,953) now 68% lower than the average pay for men (£1.07m) as opposed to 70% lower in the previous year, shows new research from employment & partnership law specialists Fox & Partners.

The gender gap has narrowed in part as the pay for women has increased faster than the pay for male board members. The average pay for women directors increased 9% over the past year to £335, 953 in the last year, up from £308,984 in the previous 12 months. However average pay for male directors only increased 3% to £1.07m from £1.04m in 2022.

Catriona Watt, Partner at Fox & Partners, says: “It’s encouraging to see the gender pay gap has slightly shrunk over the past year for directors of the UK’s largest businesses but obviously the figures show that there is still a considerable  way to go.”

“The pace of change is still very gradual. Listed companies should be striving to close the gap faster.”

The FTSE 100 gender pay gap continues to remain high in part because 91% of female directors hold non-executive positions as opposed to full time executive positions.

Adds Catriona Watt: “We noted several years ago that listed companies were achieving boardroom gender diversity almost exclusively by appointing women to non-exec roles rather than executive roles. That flattered their figures but meant that women were still largely excluded from the arguably most important and most highly paid corporate jobs.”

“That now seems to be changing.”

“The number of female executive directors has increased 10% in the past year to 43 in 2023 up from 39 in 2022.”

Non-executive roles typically hold less responsibility and pay a lower level of total remuneration than executive roles s. With more women placed in non-executive roles female influence on many FTSE 100 companies is still more limited.

Men also hold the more senior non-executive roles such as Chairman which brings with it a higher pay (directors fee) as well as additional responsibility.

More work needed to close the gender pay gap

Catriona Watt argues that much more work is needed to close the gender pay gap – with men in both executive and non-executive positions still being paid significantly more than their female counterparts. On average male executive directors earn 35% more than female directors and non-executive male pay is 50% higher than that for women.

Catriona Watt adds “FTSE 100 companies need to continue investing in schemes that promote female opportunities, mentoring and role-modelling and working on culture and appropriate infrastructure to allow women to thrive in order to make a significant impact on the gender pay gap.”

“All FTSE 100 boards should focus on improving their diversity and fostering an inclusive environment in their companies at large with appropriate messaging in this regard from the top down.”

Average pay of male and female executive and non-executive directors at FTSE 100 firms in 2023

ENDS