Female accountants close gap on bonuses
Women still lag behind men when it comes to disparity in bonus payments in the accounting profession but the gap has closed by 60 per cent in the past year, a survey showed.
The survey of 1800 professionals by recruitment specialists Lloyd Morgan said of the 23 per cent of professionals got a bonus, the average male bonus was $10,612 while their female colleagues received $8025.
The 2012/2013 data from the Lloyd Morgan MySalaryPortal showed the gap was almost double, with male accountants at $12,900 while female accountants received $6400.
Lloyd Morgan executive general manager Paul Barbaro said there has been a shift in market forces as well as attitude since realising women were undervalued.
"With flat economic conditions in recent years, many firms have shed staff and those who've remained have been asked to carry the extra workload so it's become essential for bosses to pay close attention to remuneration and recognition and to work on any disparities," Barbaro said.
A Sydney-based female chief financial officer with an undergraduate degree got an $81,000 bonus in a large financial services company, while a Perth-based male general manager of finance in the mining and resources sector got a $130,000 bonus.
For the 38 per cent who receive a benefit, flexible hours was the most popular with 17.8 per cent receiving it, while company paid training came second at 15.4 per cent.
Car park (14.8 per cent), mobile phone/allowance (11.2 per cent), and paid maternity/paternity leave (7.1 per cent) rounded out the top five benefits for accountants.
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