New figures which detail the rates at which male and female salaries are increasing show that UK businesses are still more than five decades away from paying men and women equally, according to a report published by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR.

The 2010 National Management Salary Survey shows that female salaries increased by 2.8% over the last 12 months, compared to 2.3% for men.

However, with the average UK salary for a male manager currently £10,071 more than that of a female manager, women face a 57 year wait before their take-home pay is equal to that of their male colleagues. Although this year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1970 Equal Pay Act, data collected from 43,312 individuals in 197 organisations reveals that male pay outstrips female pay by as much as 24% at senior level.

Even at junior level the gap still persists with male junior executives receiving £1,065 more than female executives. Across the regions, women in the Midlands fare the worst, taking home £10,434 less while those in the North East fare the best, where the gap is smallest at £8,955.

Do women need to be wary of taking up pharmaceutical jobs?

As per the study, looking at different industry sectors, female executives would do well to bear in mind when accepting roles in either IT or the pharmaceutical industry that the pay gaps here are higher than any other sectors, at £17,736 and £14,018 respectively, stated the CMI.

As well as stark differences in pay, the research also reveals a contrast between male and female labour turnover rates, particularly with regard to redundancy.

Over the last 12 months, 4.5% of the female workforce experienced redundancy, compared to just 3% of men. The difficult economic circumstances combined with unsatisfactory remuneration may have contributed to a dramatic increase in resignations, particularly at director level where 7.7% of female directors voluntarily left their posts in the last year, compared to just 3.6 %of men. Female resignations at director level are up from 5.3% the previous year.

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