Male employees more likely to request pay rises

New research from rewards analytics company Cendex highlights why pay and rewards benchmarking is important as we approach the reintroduction of gender pay gap reporting on 4th October.

Ruth Holmes

16 September 2021

A new whitepaper from Cendex, part of XpertHR, finds that 23% of male professionals are likely to ask for a pay rise compared with just 11% of female professionals, increasing the potential of a gender pay gap in the UK. The paper's publication coincides with new advice and guidance published by the Chartered Management Institute and the Equality and Human Rights Commission on gender pay gap reporting ahead of the law's re-introduction on 4th October.

Pay negotiations and salary reviews

Many factors contribute to the gender pay gap, but Cendex found that entry-level male employees (10%) are more than twice as likely as a female C-suite employee (4%) to ask for a pay review. The survey found that almost half (47%) of HR professionals say their employees ask for a pay review on an annual basis, with 7.8% of employees requesting a review every six months. Sales, media and marketing employees are more likely to ask for a monthly salary review than all other industries surveyed. Additionally, employees in the IT and Telecoms sector were the most likely to request a quarterly review.

Benchmarking pay and rewards by gender

With many organisations facing difficulties in recruiting and retaining employees, it’s even more important that reward benchmarking is not overlooked, says Cendex. "During the pandemic, some organisations put a hold on their gender pay gap reporting," says Scott Walker, Cendex Managing Director. "While such a move may have been necessary during a challenging time, it’s essential that awareness of, and action against, pay inequality does not stop. “With such a disbalance in pay rise requests, it’s vital that HR workers benchmark roles and understand the gaps in their payrolls. It's concerning to see that women are still holding back from negotiating a salary review, but it’s clear employers can do more to empower women in scenarios involving pay negotiation."

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