Breaking down the £52k gender pay gap in wealth management
Despite years of diversity pledges and public commitments, women in wealth management continue to earn significantly less than men - and the disparities are sharper than most realise.
According to Citywire’s 2025 report
On average, women earn £52,000 less than men, in total compensation, across wealth management roles (base salary + bonuses)
The gap persists even in comparable roles
And it is largely driven by bonus structures linked to revenue generation or assets under management; areas in which women have historically been underrepresented, often because they’ve had fewer opportunities to lead large mandates.
Investment management is the sharp end of the gap
The largest disparities show up in investment management:
Total compensation:
Men: £240,000
Women: £170,000
That’s a £70,000 difference
Bonuses alone:
Men: £90,000
Women: £45,000
Male bonuses are twice as high as those earned by female peers.
Base salaries are also unequal - £145,000 for men vs. £134,000 for women - but the real gap is driven by performance-related pay.
While not always formulaic, bonuses in wealth management often reward those who bring in assets under management (AUM) or manage key clients, areas where women remain underrepresented due to systemic barriers
Financial services has a deeper structural issue
As The Purse previously reported:
In 2024, women earned 78p for every £1 earned by men across UK financial services
At the top five UK banks, this fell to 67p per £1
In investment banking, the gap was even more severe:
Goldman Sachs: 50.4%
J.P. Morgan: 48%
Morgan Stanley: 46%
These figures reveal who holds the top-paying roles, not just how much each gender is paid for the same job.
Why progress remains fragile
Despite DEI policies and mentoring schemes, systemic change remains slow:
36% of senior roles in financial services are held by women, a 1% gain over last year (HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter 2024)
Female portfolio managers face a 43% turnover rate, compared to 29% for men (Alpha Female Report 2024)
Over 80% of new fund launches are still awarded to male managers.
This isn’t about ability, but ongoing systemic issues.
According to Citywire:
“These include a lack of visible role models, legacy recruitment practices that favour ‘culture fit’ over diversity, and the challenge of balancing leadership roles with caregiving responsibilities, which disproportionately affect women.”
And there’s growing recognition that board representation alone isn’t enough:
“Perhaps the answer is to ensure all companies have targets at the senior executive level, not just at a board level, to ensure a fairer representation of women or indeed diversity in general”.
The DEI retreat is real
Amid political backlash in the U.S., firms like UBS have removed public DEI targets, while others in the UK have swapped firm metrics for softer ‘goals' or ‘aspirations’.
Without accountability, momentum is already beginning to slow, just as the data shows how much work remains.
Women are speaking up
The pay gap hasn’t gone unnoticed:
86% of women surveyed said they’re unhappy with their pay, compared to 58% of men
Over eight in ten women believe they are paid unfairly
Parmenion investment director Meera Hearnden observed:
“If men get paid more, then on a relative basis they would get a bigger cash bonus,”
There are signs of progress
Atomos head of high net worth, Eleanor Ingilby, noted that some firms are now implementing gender-neutral bonus calibration to bring more transparency and fairness into compensation systems. So change is happening, but:
“…. It isn’t fast enough, (but )with continued focus, transparency, and support for diverse talent, the industry can build a fairer, more inclusive future..”
The bottom line
The £52,000 average gender pay gap in wealth management is more than a number - it reflects a system where power, opportunity, and reward are still distributed unequally.
While base salaries are slowly narrowing, the real disparity lies in bonuses - especially in investment roles where men earn double what women do in performance pay.
When the work environment stays the same, women are underrepresented in the most lucrative mandates, passed over for fund launches, and left out of executive succession pipelines, the cost is not just personal, it’s systemic.
This isn’t only a gender issue. It’s a business risk, a leadership gap, and a missed opportunity for innovation and long-term growth.
Gender balance is more than a diversity metric. It’s a proxy for how adaptable, inclusive, and future-ready a firm really is.
Closing the gender pay gap is not about ticking boxes. It’s about building a smarter, stronger financial system.
We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and janicka. We do no provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.
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