The disparity in basic salaries between male and female business development managers has “significantly diminished” with the average salaries “now nearly identical”, research from Paul Harper Search has revealed.
The research, BDM Salary Survey 2024, found the difference between men and women’s average basic salary is around £100 per annum, with the average salary for men standing at £78,117 compared to £78,036 for women.
The survey also discovered that female total earnings have surpassed those of their male counterparts for the first time, which the survey described as “a historic milestone”.
Female average earnings reached £116,081 in 2023 while that of males stood at £114,117.
This shift represented a 15 per cent increase in female total earnings from 2022 to 2023 and a contrasted 7 per cent decline during the same period.
Paul Harper Search managing director, Paul Harper, described the finding as a “unprecedented development”.
First fall in earnings
The research found the total earnings of BDMs experienced their first ever fall in 2023, decreasing by 5 per cent compared to 2022.
Total earnings fell from £121,438 to £115,945 which was the first recorded fall in earnings since 2000.
Alongside this, the survey reported the smallest ever increase in mean basic salaries for BDMs, rising by just 1 per cent from £75,450 to £76,514.
Providing some insight into the reasoning behind the drop, the survey suggested it represents BDMs not hitting the business target element of their key performance indicators as the market hardened.
Regional disparity
A regional disparity was discovered among average basic salaries with BDMs in the South East achieving the highest basic salary of £79,888.
This stood in contrast to BDMs in Scotland whose basic average salary of £71,540 was ranked as the lowest across the regions.
The survey added that the variance in mean total earnings across the regions is “markedly greater” at 36 per cent.
BDMs in the Midlands were found to have the highest average total earnings of £132,665 compared to their counterparts in Scotland, who receive the lowest average total earnings of £97,750.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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