More women managers than ever

The number of women in management has more than doubled in the past six years, according to research published today.

Almost a third of managers are women, and salary increases for female directors last year were higher than for their male counterparts, according to the Chartered Management Institute.

But, in terms of average pay, women managers still earn less than men. Male directors earned an average £119,126, compared with £94,115 for women. Female junior managers earned 13 per cent less than men - though for senior managers who report directly to directors, women earned slightly more than men: £80,884 compared with £80,803.

CMI chief executive Mary Chapman said: "For the first time this year, salary increases are higher for women managers than for men." But she added: "At lower levels of management women are consistently paid less than male counterparts."

In terms of pay rises, female directors enjoyed an average 9.3 per cent rise in the past year, compared with 5.6 per cent for men. Women managers got a 6.5 per cent, compared-with 6.1 per cent for men.

Higher salary increases for women could be explained by the fact that there tends to be more women managers in the public rather than private sector: while private sector pay rises have been hit by falling share prices, public sector pay has been boosted by recent investment.

The number of women directors has jumped from one in 10 to one in seven, while the total number of female managers has risen to 30 per cent of the total, according to the survey of 25,059 individuals. That is attributed to more women entering higher education and the decline of the manufacturing sector. Half of the managers working in personnel and insurance are women, with only six per cent in manufacturing and production.

Nicola Fenny of the Confederation of British Industry called the figures " encouraging", but added: "The gender gap is still a serious concern. It is overly simplistic to blame employer discrimination. Real problems are the number of women in low paid sectors."