Women CAN outearn men in finance. But only after 50
Everyone knows there’s a gender pay gap in finance. What most people don’t know is that it disappears when you hit 50.
That’s what ancillary data from our salary and bonus survey shows. Our salary and bonus survey forms the statistical basis of our annual compensation report, and received responses from 3,500 industry professionals.
Our results show that, before the age of 50, the gender pay gap ranges from women earning just 42% of men's average total compensation aged between of 31-35 at its most extreme, to women earning “just” 27% less than men when they're aged between 20-25. At those ages, men make $145k and $412k respectively, whilst women make $106k and $175k, respectively.
After the age of 50, things switch around. Women in this age category earn, on average, higher than people in any other demographic category. That increase is mostly due to significantly higher salaries, though; bonuses are lower than men's.
What makes older women such high earners, particularly when it comes to salary? That seems to be a product of the types of roles women do in finance. Our data also showed that women are more prevalent in jobs with greater longevity (eg. compliance, operations, and risk), where salaries are more likely to rise in line with tenure and bonuses but are typically lower than in the front office.
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