The gender gap is perpetuated in the Spanish company. The presence of women in managerial positions has stagnated at 16%, according to an annual report prepared by the EADA business school together with ICSA and which includes a statistical sample of 80,000 people.
As the graph reflects, the female quota reached a ceiling of 18.8% in 2021 after the implementation of teleworking in the wake of the pandemic. It fell to 16.8% in 2022 and has fallen slightly again to 16.6% this year. One of the reasons for this fall, explains professor Aline Masuda, has been the decline in remote work after the end of confinement, but also the lack of application of equality plans and the unfavorable economic situation. “In times of crisis, business culture becomes more conservative and old formulas are applied in which testosterone seems to give more security,” he says.
In terms of the pay gap, the report reflects a decline of one percentage point per year since 2017. Thus, the pay gap between male and female managers is 12%, compared to 13% in 2022 and 14% in 2021. In absolute figures, the results show that female managers earn 81,913 euros per year compared to 91,825 euros for men. It is a difference of 9,912 euros per year. However, it varies depending on the size of the company. If it is small, the difference is 8.6%; if it is medium, of 13.4%, and if it is large, of 12%.
“These figures are a long way from reaching equality and show that changes are too slow, that business culture must be redesigned to comply with the legal mandate of equality”, he points out. In this regard, Masuda considers that, “despite the fact that many men already want to work less and prioritize time with the family, they feel pressured to look for jobs that give them more prestige and financial remuneration. In contrast, the woman does not perceive this same pressure, but she does experience the additional burden that comes with the responsibility of taking care of the children”.
The study breaks down the gender gap by managerial positions and reveals that in general management responsibilities women represent only 9% of cases, while in human resources positions they represent 33%. “This difference is explained by the role of carers related to having an impact on people. In addition, this second position is more attractive because it has less responsibility and more reconciliation”, points out the professor. This gender role is also reflected in the position of production director (only 5% are women), typically occupied by technical positions, or that of commercial director (7%).
The study also addresses the gender gap in low and intermediate positions. Regarding the face-to-face quota, women occupy 46% of basic positions, while in middle management the percentage drops to 36%. The salary difference is also notable: it stands at 12%, as in the case of managerial positions.
