Gender pay gap 'to last 98 years'. Really?

The Chartered Management Institute published a report today which has been drawn from a survey of 34,158 UK executives. The report draws two broad conclusions:

1. Female executives are earning more than their male counterparts for the first time since its records began, albeit only at junior executive level.


2. Average earnings amongst those surveyed suggest that men continue to be paid more on average than women doing the same jobs (£42,441 compared to £31,895), revealing a gender pay gap of £10,546. From this data, the CMI extrapolates that the UK has a long way to go before the gender pay gap is finally closed. It predicts this will eventually happen - in 2109!

So, good news and bad news, then. But hang on... without the raw data, it's very difficult to tell if the survey is comparing like with like. Amongst other things, pay can be affected by the different work patterns of men and women, where in the UK they work, how long they have been in the job and whether they work full-time or part-time. No light is shed on why the disparity might exist, and without that we wonder whether the survey does nothing more than provide a bored subs' desk with a snappy headline and a few column inches filled.