06.19.23

More Than Just a Number

by: Joanne Cleaver

Pay equity might seem like a straightforward proposition, but it's not. Among all advisory positions tracked in InvestmentNews’ annual Advisor Benchmarking Study, men on average earned a 12% higher base salary and 14% higher total pay (including bonuses and profit distributions). Much of that, however, can be explained by differences in the roles held by men and women. Women accounted for 45% of the lowest-level support advisor roles, where their total take-home pay was actually 5.6% higher on average than men’s in the study. At the highest-level lead advisor role, average total income for men was 1.2% higher than for women, about $200,400 versus $198,100. But only 27% of the highest-paying roles were held by women, fueling a much larger gender pay gap for advisors as a whole. The differences within and among pay grades illustrate why experts caution against broad-brush assumptions about pay equity. Advisory and investment firms must translate pay equity policies to specific practices and accountability, say experts. Demonstrating pay equity efforts through reviews and analysis and commensurate adjustments proves good intent. Beyond that, firms can encourage open pay discussions, show how managers advocate for equity behind the scenes and prove that employees are not expected to forgo pay increases for coveted workplace flexibility.

Read the full article on InvestmentNews