MBA Gender Pay Gap: Are Female Graduates Still Behind?

While some might consider the gradual decrease of the MBA gender pay gap a step in the right direction, there is still a lot of work to do in terms of what the Fawcett Society defines as the Sex and Power Index.

According to data compiled by the organization, women are still missing at the top of the ranks in business. Figures are particularly striking for women of color in senior positions, with change taking place at a “dismally slow” pace.

When looking at the numbers, just over one in 20 CEOs of FTSE 100 companies are women – and unfortunately (but unsurprisingly) none of the female CEOs in these companies are women of color.

The figure has remained unchanged since the latest report in 2018.

As of 2019, almost eight in 10 UK companies still paid male employees more, and a quarter of the companies still had substantial pay gaps of more than 20 percent in favor of male colleagues.

MP Rachel Reeves, chair of the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee told The Guardian: “Too few businesses simply file the stats and then carry on as usual, failing to examine why they aren’t attracting female talent, why these gaps exist in their firms, and what they need to do to change it.”

Research also found that finance firms often have larger pay gaps. In a February 2019 report, the three companies with the largest pay gaps were Lloyds Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group – all surpassing the 30 percent threshold.

Other businesses in the financial sector with a gap over 20 percent were HSBC Global Services UK, Virgin Atlantic, HSBC Bank and Santander UK.

Because progress in retribution equity has been very slow since 2016, it’s hard to tell whether the MBA gender pay gap will continue to reduce in the 2020s, and whether it will at a faster rate than the past decade.  

Nevertheless, we cannot deny that the lack of women in senior positions – particularly in sectors with high numbers of MBA employees – likely has a key impact on the way entry-level and junior female employees are treated and rewarded in the workplace.

As Sam Smethers, Fawcett Chief Executive, said: “Despite much lip service about the importance of having women in top jobs, today’s data shows we are still generations away from achieving anything close to equality. We are wasting women’s talent and skills.

“Male dominance of positions of power remains strong as this 2020 Sex and Power Index shows. If we want change, we have to make it happen. That means quotas, targets and policy interventions to remove the barriers to women’s progression.”