Data analysis has revealed a “hidden gender bonus bias” that means men are significantly more likely to receive, and benefit more from, workplace bonuses than women.
Brightmine research found that bonuses are, in fact, reinforcing disparities. Men are almost 1.5 times more likely than women to receive a bonus. When they do, the average payout for men is nearly 1.8 times higher, standing at £4,913 (9.5 percent of salary) compared with £2,723 (6 percent of salary) for women.
Across annual bonuses, men take home on average £2,190 more than women. The gap widens with age, peaking as people reach their early 50s, when the average bonus for men is £8,693 compared with £4,193 for women (a difference of £4,500).
For the highest paid roles, directors are awarded average bonuses of £54,014 (33.6 percent of salary). By contrast, those at the lower end of the pay scale, such as cleaners or catering assistants, receive £535 (2.2 percent of salary).
Job function also plays a role as sales and marketing staff lead the way. Their average bonuses are worth 23.5 percent of salary (£17,493), while science workers received the lowest average amount at £726 (1.5 percent of salary).
Across different sectors, private-sector employees secured the biggest payouts, averaging £6,827 (12.3 percent of salary), although this group was notably more selective. Just 10.5 percent received a bonus compared with 39.8 percent in manufacturing and production.
Sheila Attwood, HR insights and data lead at Brightmine, said the findings should serve as a wake-up call for employers. “While bonuses are becoming scarcer across the workforce, the real story is the gap between males and females receiving bonuses,” she said.
“This, alongside the news that UK gender pay gap has been underestimated for the past 20 years, serves to highlight a continuing equity issue that organisations can no longer afford to ignore. If employers are serious about inclusivity, they need to face the gap head on and interrogate their reward practices to ensure transparency, fairness and consistency.”
Brightmine urged employers to audit bonus practices to uncover and address gender disparities, and to review reward strategies so that bonuses support fairness and retention rather than perpetuating inequality.
The findings are based on data for more than 1.1 million employees across 999 organisations, of which 138,411 individuals received a bonus.
