Gender audit - for audit

- Women far less likely to move into City internal audit roles

- Women paid five per cent less than men to do the same job on average

- But senior women out-earn the men

Just one in four auditors moving to in-house roles in the City is a woman, according to specialist industry audit recruiter Longbridge Search & Selection.

At a junior level - where the proportion might be expected to be higher - the proportion is only 27 per cent. Considering that six or seven years ago 49 per cent of graduates studying accountancy were women, the proportion is worryingly low.

Longbridgeís research suggests female auditors are less likely to move jobs than their male counterparts.

John Lacey, managing director of Longbridge Search & Selection, said: ìWe may be seeing fewer women going for senior in-house roles because of the perceived ìCity boyî culture of banking. But in spite of the growing number of women at the top weíre still not seeing enough of a balance between the sexes moving into these roles. Men in audit are far more inclined to move jobs ñ as this often represents the quickest way to progress their careers. Women are more reluctant to move jobs. While part of the reason is that women tend to be more settled, apprehension over inequalities in recruitment processes has also played a significant role in holding them back.î

PAY GAP

The research also looked at the gender pay gap in audit. On the whole women in audit are still paid nearly five per cent less than men. This cannot be explained by women being less likely to work in well-paid jobs than men. Even where women and men are doing the same job (in similar institutions) women earn less - with average womenís salaries five per cent lower than menís.

However, women in senior roles benefit from marginally higher pay than their male counter-parts. The average salary for senior women is 87,056 compared to 86,936 for men in senior in-house auditing roles at banks.

Average Salaries in Audit

Women - 65,189
Men - 68,492
Difference -4.82%

Senior Salaries in In-house Audit

Women - 87,056
Men - 86,936
Difference - 0.14%

John Lacey, managing director of Longbridge Search & Selection, said: ìAlthough we condemn any form of discrimination - be it on the grounds of gender, race, sexuality or age - it is worth looking at these figures in context. If we compare the five per cent difference in audit to the wider job market it looks much better. On average women in London are still paid up to 23 per cent less than men. The high salaries of senior female auditors should encourage their more junior counterparts. Compared to the rest of the capital audit is a hot bed of equality - and the glass ceiling seems to be a thing of the past.