Salaries for senior finance figures at companies on the Standard & Poor’s 500 are growing at a faster rate for women than they are for men.
Joint research from US compensation specialists Equilar, in partnership with the Associated Press, has shown that median pay for female CFOs on the index rose by almost 11% in 2014, to $3.32m.
Male salaries at the same level, meanwhile, grew by 7%, to $3.3m.
The rises continue an upward pay curve for both genders – a trend that has played out in line with the recovery from the global financial crisis.
In the female segment, former Morgan Stanley CFO Ruth Porat emerged as the star performer, with her earnings for the year hitting $14.4m.
Porat has since been enticed to Google, where her pay deal for her first year alone has been tipped to bring her $70m.
Other high-earning female CFOs in the study were:
The report shows that salaries are increasing not just as a result of broad, economic improvements, but because it is more important than ever for senior finance executives to play a strategic role in their organisations.
Commenting on the findings, Josh Crist – MD of headhunting agency Crist Kolder Associates – said: “The CFO is no longer a bean counter.”
Indeed, Duke Energy chief executive Lynn Good, quoted in the report, said that the CFO role – which was her previous position – provided an increasingly “critical training ground” for the challenges that face those on the next rung up.
“It's a unique position that has the ability to contribute to day-to-day operations, but also on long-term strategic planning,” she said.
In an independent analysis of the report, Matt Wolfson – senior consultant at salary experts Meridian Compensation Partners – noted that pay for directors is also likely to rise in the coming years, specifically because of how financial regulations are affecting the nature of their roles.
“While generally modest on a year-to-year basis,” he said, “we anticipate similar increases in the near future for directors as demands continue to grow in the post-Dodd-Frank environment.”
He added: “The time commitment to fulfil a director’s typical duties and responsibilities is rising as directors must address issues that correspond to an increasingly complex global business environment.”