Interim managers have exposed that female employees earn 7% less than men, a recent survey showed.
The survey, conducted between July and December 2009 and involving 11,000 interim managers, highlighted that on average, women were paid £553 a day; while average pay for men was £592 a day in areas of sales and marketing, HR and financial services but not general management.
The study by Russam GMS, found that although women are paid less, they are winning a greater number of jobs than men; but research showed very little difference between the way men and women negotiate rates; 54% of all interims said they occasionally negotiate their fees with clients and interim providers, and 42% of men and 41% of women admitted they negotiate often.
Research also found that 47% of women said they had reduced their fees over the last 18 months but a lesser number of 43% of men had done the same. Those that had dropped their rates felt it was more profitable to work for less than not work at all.
What was a common fret between workers was nowadays the market was flooded with individuals nicknamed ‘in-betweeners;’ people who had been made redundant and were trying out interim management to fill time; ultimately squeezing market rates and escalating competition for jobs. One interim described the bun fight for jobs saying; “At a recent interview, 28 qualified accountants were interviewed and put through two hours of psychometric tests for one four month maternity assignment.”
Chairman of Russam GMS, Charles Russam said; “Whilst our statistics showed that women earned slightly less than men in the last six months – we have no concrete evidence as to why this is the case. There is no difference in the way in male and female view money and negotiation and they face common challenges including competition from new entrants and clients being more choosey and cost conscious.”
Other information explained that clients were more cost conscious than ever, said eight out of 10 Interims. They were more specific about the skills they needed for each role and less willing to pay expenses. They urged interim providers to educate clients about the difference between ‘career’ Interims and ‘in-betweeners.’
