PageGroup, the global specialist recruitment company, has revealed that male financial leaders earn 16% more salary and 22% more bonus than their female counterparts.Nearly 3000 financial leaders from over 70 countries participated in PageGroup’s CFO & Financial Leadership Barometer and the results revealed that CFO salaries differ broadly according to gender. Only 52% of female leaders are earning more than £92k per annum, compared to the 64% of male leaders. Jonathan Firth, Managing Director at Michael Page Finance said: “These research findings are alarming and certainly highlights the wage disparity between men and women. Companies must understand that the gender salary gap needs to be addressed and future demand for qualified personnel cannot be met solely from the existing pool of male employees.”PageGroup’s survey also revealed that financial leaders are paid a global average annual salary of $145k/€125k with Middle East topping the list with an average salary of $198/€171, followed closely by the UK & Ireland with $152/€176. Mr Firth explains that compensations and benefits are steadily improving and financial leaders aged 35 or under can expect their salary to increase by 43% over the next 20 years. “Since our last survey was conducted in 2012, we are witnessing increasing signs of confidence among CFOs worldwide, particularly in the UK & Ireland and North America. Financial leaders are feeling considerably more positive about the health and buoyancy of the markets in which their business operates in. “Our research identifies that CFOs in the banking & financial services and healthcare sectors are most confident about the outlook for the future. This highlights a significant development for banking & financial services in light of the recent downturn and economic crisis of the Eurozone,” Mr Firth said. Furthermore, the survey revealed that financial leaders in larger companies (with a finance department of over 100 employees) can earn 67% more than in a small structure (those with fewer than 10 employees in finance).Read the full CFO & Financial Leadership Barometer.
