Blackstone’s bonuses 75% higher for men than for women

Blackstone pays male staff bonuses that are on average 75.4 percent more than those received by female colleagues, and men earn 30 percent more than women on an hourly basis.

The firm said the figures relate to its UK business for the 12-month period to April 2017.

The median bonus pay gap at the investment giant is a yawning 84.9 percent and its median hourly pay gap is 34.9 percent.

Blackstone is the first private equity firm to report its gender pay gap in line with new UK legislation requiring businesses with more than 250 employees to report on pay differentials between men and women. The pay gap at Blackstone compares poorly with the UK national average hourly pay gap of 9.1 percent recorded by Britain’s Office for National Statistics.

The report also shows a far higher proportion of women in the firm’s lower hourly pay quartile – 79 percent – compared with 71 percent of men in its upper quartile.

94.3 percent of women at the firm receive a bonus compared with 83.8 percent of men.

The firm explained the gap by pointing to the fact that close to three-quarters of its male employees are investment professionals, and these roles typically attract higher rewards than non-investment roles. It said less than a fifth of its female employees are investment professionals.

A spokesman for the firm told pfm: “The figures are impacted by the legacy under-representation of women in higher paid investment positions in finance. Creating a pipeline of women for investment roles is imperative for Blackstone. That is why we have multiple initiatives dedicated to hiring and retaining greater numbers of women. We are already seeing progress with the proportion of women recruited globally as analysts since 2015 doubling to nearly 40 percent today. These are our future leaders.”