WOMEN are still more than a decade away from having pay equality in the workplace in Wales, new figures have revealed.

According to a report from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR, figures reveal the average salaries of male and female managers are still far apart – with men earning an average £6,570 more than women.

The CMI figures estimate that women managers in Wales are still 13 years away from achieving pay equality with their male counterparts – but that’s a more positive picture than the UK as a whole, where women can only expect pay equality in 57 years.

The 2010 National Management Salary Survey showed female salaries in Wales increased by 3.9% over the past 12 months, compared to 2.3% for men.

However, there are signs that Wales is making much greater strides towards paying fairly than anywhere else in the UK.

While the gap persists at senior level – a difference of £1,877 for team leaders – at junior level female executives from Wales received £324 more than male executives.

The research also revealed a contrast between male and female labour turnover rates UK-wide, particularly with regard to redundancy.

Over the past 12 months, 4.5% of the female workforce experienced redundancy, compared to just 3% of men.

The difficult economic circumstances, combined with unsatisfactory salaries, may have contributed to a dramatic increase in resignations, particularly at director level where 7.7% of female directors voluntarily left their posts in the past year, compared to just 3.6% of men. Female resignations at director level are up from 5.3% the previous year.

The results were calculated using the average salaries for male and female managers at all levels and for junior levels, it took the average salary for a junior female and for a junior male and cross-checked them against each other.

Responding to the report, CMI’s head of policy, Petra Wilton, said: “Girls born in Wales this year will face the probability of working for around 13 years in the shadow of unequal pay. The prospect of continued decades of pay inequality cannot be allowed to become reality.

“We want to see Government take greater steps to enforce pay equality by monitoring organisations more closely and naming and shaming those who fail to pay male and female staff fairly. Š

“It’s not just Government that needs to act. Competitive businesses need to attract diverse workforces and appeal to the most talented employees. To do this, managers and employers need to recruit from a wide talent pool but they cannot expect to attract the UK’s best female talent if they continue to undervalue it.”

The gloomy findings come as CMI’s Women in Management (WiM) network – established with the aim of supporting female executives and encouraging women to aspire to take director-level roles – celebrates its 40th anniversary.

WiM’s chairwoman, Sandra Pollock, said: “Four decades have passed since the Equal Pay Act became law, when the pay gap stood at 34% across the board. In many ways things have progressed, but the fact that such a significant gap still exists means the UK still has some way to go.

“We want to inspire young women to reach the top but how can we possibly expect them to want the top jobs if, despite doing the same role as male colleagues, they will be paid less?

“I sincerely hope that with the combined efforts of UK employers and the Government, plus the efforts of organisations like ours that work to support women in their careers, the pay gap can be consigned to history.”

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