High salaries, high turnover

Women have received higher salary increases than men for the tenth successive year and are more likely to be given a bonus. However, growing pay packets are failing to stem the tide of female resignations in the engineering sector.

The findings, released recently by the Chartered Management Institute and Remuneration Economics, show an average national movement in earnings of 6.7 per cent for women and 5.6 per cent for men, in the twelve months to January 2006. It is also the highest movement in earnings for five years.

Women managers in the engineering sector increased their earnings by 3.4 per cent, against only 2.9 per cent for their male counterparts. And female managers in the sector are eleventh in this year’s earnings league table, dropping two places in twelve months.

In real terms this means that female managers in the engineering sector earned an average of £36,301 in the year to January 2006. But this is still £3,996 less than the male equivalent of £40,297, an 11 per cent difference. The gap at director level in the engineering sector is £90,222, with the average female director earning £135,116. However, across the UK, in organisations with a turnover of less than £25 million women directors come out on top, earning £127,369 compared to £116,511 for men.