Women in financial services are earning around 30 per cent less than men, according to new research – effectively working 99 days of the year for free.
Data from eFinancialCareers’ latest Compensation Report found women in finance earned around £104,000 on average in 2025, compared with £135,000 for men in the UK. It highlights a significant gap even at higher salary levels.
Crucially, though, the pay gap is only part of a far greater issue, as the consequences stretch far beyond salaries.
In a sector where bonuses can make up a significant share of total pay, disparities often run deeper than base wages initially suggest.
The result is not just lower monthly income, but a widening gap in savings, pensions and long-term financial security.
Why the gap is bigger than it looks
The structure of pay in financial services is a key driver. While salaries are relatively visible, bonuses are often less transparent and more unevenly distributed.
Jeannie Boyle, director and chartered financial planner at EQ Investors, points to the way these structures can widen inequalities over time.
“Remuneration in financial services often comes through the payment of bonuses,” she says. “The structure of these can be opaque, with the decisions made with an inevitable degree of subjectivity.
“Women are more likely to work part time and may be less ‘visible’ than their male colleagues, so could find they are losing out in comparison. However, it is almost impossible to know for sure given the secrecy around these awards.”
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That opacity matters as bonuses are not just short-term rewards – they often feed directly into longer-term financial outcomes.
“People often make tax efficient use of a bonus by paying it into a pension,” Boyle explains. “It helps boost retirement funds for later in life. This option simply is a luxury that isn’t available unless you have achieved a good level of financial security already.”
The role of seniority and progression
The gap is also closely tied to who reaches the highest-paid roles.
Charles Cotton, senior performance and reward adviser at the CIPD, says: “In sectors such as finance, gender pay gaps are often driven by who occupies the most senior and highest-paid roles. Where women remain under-represented at leadership level, the higher salaries and larger bonuses attached to senior roles can amplify the gap.”
Global data highlights how sharp that drop-off is. Women hold 42 per cent of all jobs, but their representation falls significantly at senior levels. In financial services, women make up 49 per cent of entry-level roles but just 23 per cent in the C-suite.
Progress has also stalled. Women’s advancement into leadership roles had been improving for several years, but began falling in 2022 and continued to decline in 2023, according to the World Economic Forum.
Cotton says employers need to look beyond headline pay figures, saying: “That means firms need to look not just at pay, but at progression into senior roles and how reward decisions are made.”
Why disparities persist
Despite years of focus on pay transparency, the gap remains stubborn, in part because of how work and careers are structured.
“Pay disparities often persist because women are still more likely to carry caring responsibilities, which can affect working patterns and career progression,” Cotton explains.
“Where workplaces reward long hours or constant availability, pay gaps can widen. Pay transparency matters, but it works best alongside fair promotion processes, flexible working, support for carers and regular reviews of pay and reward decisions.”
These structural issues mean the gap is not just about unequal pay for equal work, but about unequal access to the highest-paying opportunities.
What it means for your finances
For individuals, the impact is cumulative and often underestimated. Boyle says: “What does a 25 per cent pay gap mean in real terms? It could be the difference between paying the bills every month and being able to invest in your future.”
Lower pay and smaller bonuses reduce the ability to save, invest and build financial resilience. Over time, that translates into a wider wealth gap.
Boyle notes that investing just £100 a month over 40 years could build a pension pot of around £300,000 – a gap that could ultimately determine when someone is able to retire.
“Within the financial sector, the gender pay gap will have lasting effects on women’s financial security. Lower earnings, smaller bonus payments and time out of the workforce can all reduce pension contributions and chances to build wealth,” adds Cotton.
“This can leave many women with lower retirement incomes and less financial resilience.”
A wider economic impact
The consequences go beyond individual finances, as lower earnings for women affect spending power, economic growth and productivity.
Boyle says: “Outside of financial services there is a wider impact on society and the economy because women have less money to spend.”
The World Economic Forum estimates that closing the global gender pay gap could increase global GDP by $12 trillion (around £8.9tn), underlining the scale of the issue. But for many women, the impact remains personal and immediate.
“Finances play a huge part in every big life decision we make – the home we buy, the number of children we have, the timing of our retirement,” Boyle says. “When women have less money than men they quite simply find that their choices are curtailed. So, the issue goes beyond simple financial security.”
Until those gaps are addressed – in pay, progression and bonuses – the reality is that many women will continue to earn less, save less and ultimately retire with less.
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