Average male pharmacist's pay is £2k more than female in same role
Male employee community pharmacists and branch managers earn on average £2,000 more than female pharmacists in the same role, according to C+D's Salary Survey 2017.
The responses to the survey – which ran throughout October 2017 – found the average salary of 243 male branch managers, and “second or non-manager community pharmacists” was 5% higher than 252 women in the survey undertaking the same roles.
Pharmacy chains with over 250 staff are now required by law to publish details of their gender pay gap. Boots, Well and Lloydspharmacy have all revealed the gender pay gap between their male and female employees – which includes community pharmacists along with other staff.
The gender pay gap is a measure of the difference between men’s and women’s average earnings across a company, regardless of role or seniority.
In contrast, 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.
The Salary Survey results reveal male and female community pharmacists employed in the same role within the sector do not receive equal pay.
Use C+D's interactive tool (below) to explore the difference in pay between men and women in community pharmacy.
5% pay difference
The average salary of 162 male branch managers working between 35 and 45 hours a week was £47,099, compared with £44,660 for 169 female branch managers – a difference of £2,439, or 5%.
The average salary difference was slightly smaller – at £2,064 (also 5%) – between the 164 second or non-manager community pharmacists in the survey who worked between 35 and 45 hours a week. The 81 men in these roles earned an average of £40,648 a year, compared with the £38,584 average salary paid to 83 women with the same role.
Locum pay rate bucks trend
C+D’s analysis of average hourly locum pay rates shows this pay difference is reversed among the 248 locum pharmacists (126 men and 122 women) who responded to the survey.
The average hourly pay rate of a female locum pharmacist in the survey was £20.90 per hour – 54 pence more than the average for men, at £20.36. This is equivalent to £1,123 more a year for female pharmacists working 40 hours a week.
Read C+D’s in-depth analysis of equal pay in community pharmacy, and the gender pay gap – including sector leaders' thoughts on why the differences exist – here.
The C+D Salary Survey 2017 ran throughout October 2017 and was completed by a total of 1,754 pharmacists and pharmacy staff. C+D's ongoing coverage of the survey can be found here.
Search through hundreds of pharmacist roles on the C+D Jobs website
What do you think the reasons for unequal pay in the sector are?