Women in HR still paid less than men

UK - There may be more female HR professionals in the industry these days but their annual wages are still trailing behind their male counterparts by up to S$130,000 per year.

A survey of more than 5,000 HR professionals by the Chartered Management Institute and salary data company Celre has revealed the median basic salary for men was S$93,600 per year, compared with S$74,700 for women. This is equivalent to a 20% pay gap, which exceeded the British average of 12.6%, according to UK's Office National Statistics. The inequality is further underlined when the approximate ratio of females to males in HR is 70:30.

The pay disparity grows even wider at board level, with a male HR director earning S$130,000 more than his female equivalent, according to median total earnings. Charles Cotton, reward adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, explained, "At senior levels, appointments may reflect the bias of the organisation and of the board."

Nonetheless, HR leaders should remain focused on narrowing the nationwide wage gap before tackling their own salary issues. "HR professionals should be looking at this issue from across an entire organisation, not their own department," Cotton told Personnel Today. "This is an issue for all professions, but HR is paid to do a job, so it should be conducting internal reviews and looking to demystify the causes of pay divides."