Average male pharmacist branch manager's pay £4k higher than female in same role
Male community pharmacist branch managers earned on average £4,000 more than their female counterparts in 2021, according to data from the C+D Salary Survey.
C+D broke down the salaries and pay satisfaction by role and gender, examining responses from community pharmacist branch managers, non-manager pharmacists and locums – based on data from the 2021 Salary Survey survey, which ran from November 26 to December 31.
Please note:
C+D’s calculations on the average salaries of those identifying as male or female – and working as either community pharmacist branch managers or non-manager pharmacists – only took into consideration those working between 35-45 hours per week.
C+D's exclusive analysis focuses on equal pay – the legal requirement that men and women in the same employment, performing equal work, must receive the same wages.
Female branch managers and non-manager pharmacists paid less
The average salary of all community pharmacist branch managers stands at £47,197.43, C+D reported last month.
But female community pharmacist branch managers took home a £4,194 less per year than their male counterparts in 2021, according to C+D’s analysis.
While the 80 respondents in this role identifying as female earned on average £46,812.50 in 2021, the 77 male respondents reported an average yearly salary of £51,006.50.
Similarly, female second or non-manager pharmacists also took home less money compared to their male colleagues in 2021.
The 32 male second or non-manager pharmacists who completed the 2021 survey received £47,812.50 per year on average.
Comparatively, female second or non-manager pharmacists received about £6,128.80 less than their male counterparts in that same period, as the 49 respondents reported earning £41,683.7 on average.
Last month, C+D reported that the average salary of second or non-manager pharmacists had declined for the first time in the seven years the C+D Salary Survey has reviewed it, from £38,846 in 2020 to £38,167.31 in 2021.
Locums: more than £1 difference in hourly rate
There was just over £1 difference between the average hourly rate of male and female locum pharmacists, according to the C+D Salary Survey 2021 data.
Female locums earned £27.46 per hour on average, compared to the £28.55 their male counterparts earned per hour.
Based on these calculations, female locums working 40 hours a week could earn up to £57,116.80 a year, whereas male locums could earn up to £59,384 in the same period.
Almost half (45%) of male locum pharmacists responding to the survey reported dissatisfaction with their rates, while 34% of female locums said they were unhappy.
Of the female locum respondents, 60% said they had seen an increase in pay in the previous 12 months, with just over three quarters (76%) of them saying they had succeeded in negotiating higher rates of pay with their employer.
Comparatively, just over half (52%) of male locums upped their pay in 2021, with some 86% saying they had asked their employer for more money.
Inconsistency with pay increases
Just under half (45%) of male second or non-manager pharmacists responding to the survey said they had seen an increase in their pay in 2021, compared to 38% of female non-manager pharmacists.
Some 3% of male non-managers had a decrease in pay, while no female non-managers reported receiving less than in 2020.
Although female community pharmacist branch managers on average received less than male pharmacist branch managers in 2021, 65% said their salary had increased compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, 55% of the male cohort reported earning more than they did in 2020.
Bonuses and pay satisfaction
Over half of female non-manager pharmacists (63%) said they were dissatisfied with their salary and just 2% said they were “more than satisfied”.
They were closely mirrored by their male counterparts, 56% of which said they were dissatisfied with their pay. Again, only a fragment (3%) reported being more than satisfied.
The majority of respondents dissatisfied with their pay placed blame on their employers, 79% for women and 83% for men.
Some 73% female non-manager pharmacists got a bonus from their employer in 2021, while the percentage goes up to 77% for their male counterparts.
As for community pharmacist branch managers, a smaller percentage (39%) of females reported dissatisfaction with their salary package when compared to males (56%), again mostly blaming their employers.
However, 68% of female respondents said they’d received a bonus from their employer. One said it was the “first time in a few years” she had received a bonus, while another said she had been promised £500, but was “still waiting for it”.
They followed their male counterparts closely, 70% of which got a bonus from their employer. Most reported it was a “Christmas bonus”.
The C+D Salary Survey 2021 ran between November 26 and December 31, 2021 and was completed by a total of 1,295 pharmacists and pharmacy staff.
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