Hong Kong's gender pay gap gets worse with age

Women in their 30s earn 11% less whilst those in their 50s earn 25% less than men.

A study revealed that Hong Kong’s gender pay gap gets worse over time as women in their 30s earn 11% less on average than their male counterparts, according to Willis Towers Watson.

This translates to a $329,000 compensation package a year for women versus $369,000 for men in the same age bracket.

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The difference in pay widens with age as women in their 50s earn around $482,000 a year compared to $645,000 for men, representing a 25% difference.

After 60, women earn an average of $322,000 which is almost half the $618,000 made by men from the same age bracket.

“Our data shows women generally leave the job market earlier than men, leaving fewer women to take up senior roles in companies,” Wen Wan, senior consultant for talent and rewards at Willis Towers Watson in Hong Kong said in an article from the South China Morning Post. “This has led to their average pay package being much lower than men.”

A separate reports reveals that Hong Kong still trails Singapore and other developed countries in terms of female c-level representation although figures inched up from 12.4% to 13.8% YoY as of January 2018.

Malaysia, however, registers the highest number of women on its boards at 19.1%. Close regional competitor Singapore also accelerated feminine representation from 10.9% to 13.1% even without a mandated quota.

Hong Kong’s sluggish trajectory stands in even starker contrast when pitted against global counterparts as the UK is now voluntarily targeting 33% represntation on FTSE100 boards by 2020 whilst other markets with over 20% representation of women on their boards include Australia, Canada, the United States, and Norway.