Gender pay gap persists in financial audit roles

Women in junior in-house audit jobs suffer the biggest difference in salary.

Women are far less likely to move into UK financial sector internal audit roles, according to research. 

Just one in four auditors moving to in-house roles in London’s Square Mile is a woman, according to audit recruiter Longbridge Search & Selection.

At a junior level - where it might be expected to be higher - the proportion is only 27%. The firm said considering that six years ago 49% of graduates studying accounting were women, the proportion is worryingly low.

The research also suggests female auditors are less likely to move jobs than their male counterparts.

Not enough balance

Managing director of Longbridge John Lacey said: ‘We may be seeing fewer women going for senior in-house jobs, because of the perceived "City boy" culture of banking. In spite of the growing number of women at the top, we’re still not seeing enough of a balance between the sexes moving into these roles.’

Lacey says that men in audit are far more inclined to move jobs, as this often represents the quickest way to progress their careers. ‘Women are more reluctant to move jobs. While part of the reason is that women tend to be more settled, apprehension over inequalities in recruitment processes has also played a significant role in holding them back.’

Pay gap

The research also looked at the gender pay gap in audit. On the whole, women in audit are still paid nearly 5% less than men. This cannot be explained by women being less likely to work in well-paid jobs than men. Even where women and men are doing the same job (in similar institutions) women earn less - with average women’s salaries 5% lower than men’s.

However, women in senior roles benefit from marginally higher pay than their male counterparts. The average salary for senior women is £87,056 compared to £86,936 for men in senior in-house auditing roles at banks.

Average salaries in audit
Women      £65,189
Men           £68,492
Difference   -4.82%  

Senior salaries in in-house audit
Women       £87,056
Men            £86,936
Difference    0.14%  

Women in junior in-house audit jobs suffer the biggest difference in salary. On average, they are paid 9% less than men doing the same job.

Junior salaries in in-house audit
Women        £45,509
Men             £50,048
Difference     -9.07%  

Lacey said: ‘Although we condemn any form of discrimination - be it on the grounds of gender, race, sexuality or age - it is worth looking at these figures in context. If we compare the 5% difference in audit to the wider job market, it looks much better. On average, women in London are still paid up to 23% less than men. The high salaries of senior female auditors should encourage their more junior counterparts. Compared to the rest of London, audit is a hotbed of equality - and the glass ceiling seems to be a thing of the past.’

May 2008

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