Strategic Pay says its latest Directors’ Fees Survey has uncovered an unexpected trend in New Zealand’s private sector boardrooms: Women are earning more than their male counterparts, despite being significantly under-represented.
The annual survey gives insight into trends and practices relating to the payment of directors’ fees in Aotearoa New Zealand, which the company says provides valuable data that can drive change and inform decisions.
The comprehensive survey analysed 342 organisations, covering 324 non-executive chairs and 1,615 non-executive directors, revealing insights into director remuneration and representation across sectors.
Private sector bucks national trend on gender pay
Strategic Pay says in a statement that while the broader employment market continues to show a gender pay gap favouring men, the trend for those sitting on the boards of private companies is quite different:
- Female non-executive chairs earn 3.7 percent more than males
- Female non-executive directors receive 17.2 percent higher fees
“However, this pay advantage comes against a backdrop of concerning underrepresentation. In the private sector, females comprise just 21% of non-executive chairs and 36% of non-executive directors, lower than the public sector where 38% of chairs and 45% of directors are female.”
The company says the male sample in the survey is significantly larger (858 directorships) than the female sample (392 directorships).
With larger samples comes greater variability in pay, while smaller samples tend to be more concentrated…
“With larger samples comes greater variability in pay, while smaller samples tend to be more concentrated.
“This year, that concentration happens to be in favour of higher-paying board roles held by women. Over half (61 percent) of the female sample sit on large, listed organisations, and 55 percent are on boards of companies with a turnover exceeding $200 million.”
Industry variations show marked differences
Strategic Pay says the survey found significant disparities in director fees across industries.
“The highest fees were paid to non-executive chairs and directors within the retail, wholesale/import/export, and manufacturing industries, while the education industry recorded the lowest fees for both roles.
“Gender representation also varies by industry, with leisure, travel & tourism leading in female board representation, while professional services recorded the lowest percentage.”
Listed company premium continues to grow
It notes that directors of private sector, publicly listed companies continue to command a significant premium, earning 59 percent more at the median than their counterparts in unlisted private sector organisations.
“Fee increases showed strong momentum across all organisation types. Unlisted organisations had similar movement for both their chairs and directors, at 7.7 percent and 8 percent respectively, while listed organisations had a slightly larger increase with 11 percent movement for their chairs and 10 percent for their directors.”
Strategic Pay managing director Cathy Hendry says the private sector’s gender pay dynamics represent a fascinating contrast to broader market trends.
“While it’s encouraging to see women earning more in these roles, the significant under-representation suggests there’s still substantial work to be done in achieving genuine board diversity.”
The higher average pay for women is largely due to their greater presence in larger listed organisations, which tend to offer higher fees…
Hendry says that the higher average pay for women is largely due to their greater presence in larger listed organisations, which tend to offer higher fees.
She also points out that female directors typically have shorter tenures – averaging five years, compared to seven for men.
There has been a reduction in the number of governing bodies within the public health sector, which has had an impact on the number of participants and the reporting of board fees in this space.
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