New Report Suggests Female CEOs Are Not Paying Themselves Enough
As more startup businesses recover slowly from the precipitous drop-off in revenue caused by the pandemic, female CEOs are paying themselves even less compared with their male counterparts, according to the latest report from San Francisco-based accounting firm Kruze Consulting.
The report analyzes 250 seed and venture-funded startups in America and finds that the salary gap between female and male startup CEOs grew four times wider in 2022 from what it was in late 2019. The differential clocks in at $20,000 in 2022, up from $5,000 in 2019.
Compared with 2021, 2022 saw an increase of only $1,000 annually for female CEOs, while male CEOs saw a $5,000 salary increase. For every dollar in salary men earned, female CEOs earned:
2022: $0.86
2021: $0.89
2020: $0.69
2019: $0.96
The study also points out the startling difference in how male and female CEOs have reacted to the pandemic. On average, female startup CEOs have cut their pay by 30 percent during the coronavirus outbreak (bringing salaries down to $101,000 in 2020 from $138,000 in 2019), while male CEOs have given themselves a raise (raising their salaries to $146,000 in 2020, up from $143,000 in 2019).
“As the gender pay gap persists, it’s critical for companies to set an example of equal pay from the top,” Tanya Jansen, co-founder of compensation management software solution company beqom, tells Inc. “Female CEOs, and all women across any level, deserve to be paid fairly regardless of the role they are in.”