Female managers in the public sector on average earn a salary £6,490 smaller than their male counterparts, research has revealed.
Analysis suggests that while a gender pay gap of 18% exists in the public sector, this disparity is slightly smaller than in other sectors such as manufacturing and retail - both on 23%.
Data from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR shows the average salary recorded for public sector managers stands at £36,050 for men and £29,560 for women.
While average bonuses for a female senior function head in the public sector has reached £1,333, for men in similar positions the average pay-out stands at £1,822.
'Lower levels of pay for women managers cannot be justified, yet our extensive data shows the pay gap remains a reality for too many women in the public sector,' Ann Francke, chief executive of CMI, said.
'Women and men should be paid on the basis of their performance in their particular roles, but this is clearly not yet the case for far too many. We have to stamp out cultures that excuse this as the result of time out for motherhood and tackle gender bias in pay policies that put too much emphasis on time served.'
However, figures suggest women's annual pay awards have edged ahead of men's in three of the five most junior job levels. While the gap still exists for younger women, it is narrower than for more senior colleagues.
XpertHR's head of salary surveys, Mark Crail, says: 'The XpertHR data shows that women begin to fall behind at the age when they are most likely to be starting a family, and it just gets worse from then on.
'It appears that employers often give up on women in mid-career and are missing out on a huge pool of untapped knowledge, experience and talent.'
