Linklaters has published its gender pay gap figures, which reveals that the average hourly rate for women is over 23 per cent lower than for men.
The median figure for the same measure means that women are paid 39.1 per cent lower than men.
In terms of bonus pay, women received on average 57.9 per cent less than men, while the median figure was higher at 62.1 per cent.
The number of women receiving bonus pay did however surpass men, with 78.4 per cent of women taking home bonus pay compared with 76 per cent of men.
Women also dominated the lowest bracket at Linklaters, making up 79.2 per cent, compared with just 20 per cent of men.
The figures even out further up the pay scale, with the top pay bracket composed of 55 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women.
Linklaters has taken steps to increase the number of women holding senior positions at the firm. Female membership of the firm’s executive committee is now close to the 50 per cent mark, three years after Linklaters became the first in the magic circle to set gender diversity targets.
Membership of the firm’s executive committee, the most senior management group, has exceeded the firm’s 30 per cent target for 2018, hitting a high of 42 per cent.
However, the firm still has work to do on its partnership, for which it set a 30 per cent target in 2014. Female membership currently stands at 23 per cent.
Linklaters’ figures are similar to that of CMS Cameron Mckenna Nabarro Olswang, Shoosmiths and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) which reported their figures last month.
CMS’ figures for the 12 months up to 5 April 2017 reveal that female employees are paid on average 17.3 per cent less than their male counterparts. The median hourly rate for women is 32.8 per cent lower than for men.
This is despite the fact that the firm overwhelming employs more women than men, at a 70 to 30 female-to-male ratio.
A total of 78 per cent of women worked full-time compared with 98 per cent of men, while 22 per cent of women worked part-time compared with 2 per cent of men.
Gender pay gap figures revealed that female employees at the firm on average earn 15.4 per cent less than their male equivalents, while the median is 13 per cent.
Like CMS, women are better represented in the middle pay bracket. Women accounted for 81 per cent of the lower middle quartile compared to men at 19 per cent.
Women accounted for 60 per cent of the top quartile of earners, compared to men at 40 per cent. Women account for 69 per cent of the lowest-paid earners at the firm.
Bonus pay for women was 18 per cent lower than for men despite almost the same number of men as women receiving bonuses in the year leading up to April 2017. There was no difference in bonus pay when taking into account the median.
The figures for HSF reveal that women are paid 19 per cent less than men per hour, while the median hourly rate for female employees is almost 40 per cent lower than its counterparts.
Regional managing partner for the UK, US and EMEA Ian Cox said: “We welcome the introduction of gender pay gap reporting as an important contributor to transparency, and we are committed to working to reduce or eliminate any gap that exists.”
