Gender pay gap (Consulting - Big 4)

[PayGap]

Hello lovely people. For a long time I have been wondering about the gender pay gap in the big 4 organizations, i.e., I know it exists but how big is the gap? It is quite frustrating to realize that you are being paid significantly less for the same amount of work/effort.

I believe organizations should be more transparent about salary bands but sadly they are not. So far, I have n't been able to find helpful information that can help me compare, hence thought of starting this thread. There are quite useful discussions on Reddit but mainly they are for US and not for UK organizations.

Hopefully this will help all of us assess where we are on the pay spectrum and use this information to negotiate and bridge the gap (wishful thinking?).

I will go first with my details, let's follow the following format to share so that we can compare. Feel free to also share (if comfortable), salaries of people you know who work in Big 4/Consulting. This is specifically for Big 4 Consulting, but please share for others if you find that helpful. PS. I have name changed for the thread.

Big 4 - Deloitte - Consulting
Gender: Female
Years of relevant experience - 8 years
Grade: Senior Consultant
Base pay: £50K
Benefits: £5K
Ethnic minority: Yes
Location: London

Who's next?

[timeisnotaline]

It’s not a competitive salary for your grade. It’s the bottom of the grade. Everyone is promoted to the bottom pay band of the next grade unless that’s a pay cut. The average salary reflects that just about only the newly promoted are on that pay and hiring laterals in skews it up. Do a good job and jump to another big 4 and you’d get more.

[timeisnotaline]

They are all adjusting the salary bands across the big 4 mainly because they found staff were very unhappy with last year and the stuck in a small room video meeting 11 hours a day and either juggling it with parenting or covering the work for those who are juggling it with parenting, that’s a fairly global change. So industry seemed much more attractive and they are struggling with getting new staff. And broader themes of juniors not willing to do the hours at the big names for low pay just for the prestige so also magic circle and investment banks- Goldman’s giving grads pay hikes.
Congratulations! Exceeding sounds like a 2 to me and it’s a good rating. I think you need to look more broadly than your 1 colleague, as i said while it could be gender pay gap that example sounds exactly like every lateral - they come in on higher amounts. The not such a large jump to the next band is also normal. I’ve been shocked at people who were highly paid in the band being stunned at the teeny pay rises when they get promoted as they start at the bottom of the next-they’ve been there for years and don’t seem to know how it works. Basically you are there for the experience and opportunity not the pay, and If that doesn’t feel like a fair pay off then it’s time to leave - obviously most people leave eventually and a few make partner . Serious pay and bonus starts at director level, with some senior manager exceptions for unique skill sets (and blag). As a manager you are in a much better position to springboard somewhere else with a decent salary than you were a week ago!

It’s also generally a very difficult career to manage if you imagine going part time for a few years. My advice to colleagues is sure go part time but start looking for another job. Big 4 just don’t support it.

[PayGap]

But really, thank you all for sharing your experience with me. It has been very very helpful.

[PayGap]

This post is mainly not about my years of experience and promotion. What I am frustrated about was having the same grade and lower salary as compared to someone with similar experience.

Deloitte s been sharing promotion and salary news this week. Between posting the original post and now, I have come to know that I have been promoted to M, with a new salary of high 60s, which the company sold as - as this s awesome as it’s such a big jump. My thoughts are -

1. Yes a massive jump BUT for the past 2-3 years I was being paid a very low salary for the same work
   
2. A male colleague at SC grade s earning 60k while I will be earning high 60s at M grade
   
3. My comment above about big 4 adjusting salary bands particularly for C, SC , M levels.
   
4. Checked glass door, avg M grade salary at D is mid 70s
   

Brings me back to the same question - is it competitive for my grade or the company s yet again doing what they did at the SC grade.

[PayGap]

@timeisnotaline

My industry is big 4. I was a senior manager a couple of years ago. We share the pay bands internally. They are very consistent with the other big4. It starts a bit under 80k for senior manager I think.

It was in the news recently that the big 4 are adjusting their pay bands to be competitive this year, this was also mentioned in one of internal meetings. They dint share the bands but some of the employees commented that M being paid ~ high 80 s to 90 in another big 4.

I have n’t been here for all these 8 years, been only for the past couple. My first few years were in a different country / but same area.

Performance reviews - in my op unit they don’t share ratings now, but both times it was “exceed expectations. “ I guess it s now exceed/meet/ below.

[timeisnotaline]

In london by the way.

[timeisnotaline]

My industry is big 4. I was a senior manager a couple of years ago. We share the pay bands internally. They are very consistent with the other big4. It starts a bit under 80k for senior manager I think.

[NiceGerbil]

80k for that type of role in London is not senior manager level.

At least in my industry and my understanding of OP type role at those types of companies is that it would be similar or more.

I'm really taken aback by the numbers she gave.

She needs to move. That's the way to get decent increases.

[NiceGerbil]

IME in my industry anyway.

It doesn't work like that.

Why would they promote and pay more etc if a person is doing all the stuff really well for what they're on?

[timeisnotaline]

They won’t pay you 80k. That is more like the starting senior manager level. When you say your performance reviews have been great, do you mean you’ve been getting either a 1 or a 2 each year and not being promoted? If so, that’s unacceptable and you need to say what is needed for a promotion as I’m going to start looking elsewhere. If you mean 2s and 3s and lots of nice words, that more means you’re doing ok at your grade. Straight 2s is hard to tell which way it falls without knowing you. This is out of 4, adjust it if out of 5, I’m assuming there is a roughly similar perf score.
Also your people manager should be both your champion and able to tell you what else you need to do. You can ask to switch.
When you say you have a lot of responsibility, I hmm a bit. All senior consultants have a lot of responsibility, but very few have manager level responsibility etc. again would have to know you- if you are performing a manger role you should be promoted. If you just think you’re doing a lot without having the perspective of what the manager /senior manager role is carrying then that’s different.

[SourAppleChew]

I think you are possibly being too conscientious. Who was it that said "if you get offered a job you're not sure you can do....accept it and then learn how to do it."

Obv doesn't always work like that, but one of my best mates is a bloke and has increased his pay from £45k to slightly over £100k as an IT/digital forensics consultant by basically hopping around the last few years. He's got a really good recruiter who seems much better at selling him than he is himself. My mate is no idiot but really not exceptional.

[Shelddd]

@ZenNudist

8 years and not yet manager? That's a problem. You are not rated. Need to leave.

I'm regional so can't help you. Plus I'm not big 4 and not consulting!!. I hung around too long at pwc in advisory and should have left. I changed specialism after 5 years and then felt I needed to build my experience back up but it took 7 years to get to manager overall with the specialism change. It felt like a real kick in the teeth when I'd asked about this before changing and they just lie to you. I was on your salary in 2012 as a manager with 12 years experience including 7 years in my specialism.

I should have bit the bullet and moved after 5 years or 7 years but I was comfortable, liked my shitty awful team, and stayed. They took the piss with salary, overworked me and never promoted me when they said they would, eventually I had dc1 and funnily enough found myself made redundant.

Payed off for me as I moved to a great firm who really value me.

My advice to you is to start speaking to recruiters. You should be able to get to manager level plus get a pay bump. Ask advice from recruiters on salary. Do not stay. Do not be a mug. Deloitte don't value you.

I don't think OP meant 8 years in consulting at big 4. Probably had most of that experience in industry job in same area they're consulting in (says relevant experience)... Even with lots of industry experience, advanced degrees, etc.. you still would have a hard time getting hired as a manager in a consulting firm. They like to bring people in at consultant or senior consultant (if they're not coming from competing consultancies) regardless of years of experience.

[ZenNudist]

8 years and not yet manager? That's a problem. You are not rated. Need to leave.

I'm regional so can't help you. Plus I'm not big 4 and not consulting!!. I hung around too long at pwc in advisory and should have left. I changed specialism after 5 years and then felt I needed to build my experience back up but it took 7 years to get to manager overall with the specialism change. It felt like a real kick in the teeth when I'd asked about this before changing and they just lie to you. I was on your salary in 2012 as a manager with 12 years experience including 7 years in my specialism.

I should have bit the bullet and moved after 5 years or 7 years but I was comfortable, liked my shitty awful team, and stayed. They took the piss with salary, overworked me and never promoted me when they said they would, eventually I had dc1 and funnily enough found myself made redundant.

Payed off for me as I moved to a great firm who really value me.

My advice to you is to start speaking to recruiters. You should be able to get to manager level plus get a pay bump. Ask advice from recruiters on salary. Do not stay. Do not be a mug. Deloitte don't value you.

[NiceGerbil]

Even if you don't feel ready to move

No harm in getting your CV up to date
Putting out some feelers if that's a thing you do
Looking at the ads and maybe asking around about sgency recs (not with your colleagues obv!)

[PayGap]

Thank you so much everyone for sharing insights and for your words of encouragement.

[NiceGerbil]

You need to prioritise getting another job.

Getting a large pay rise within the same company is incredibly difficult.

With them on your cv I imagine that will make you much more interesting to other companies.

Changing jobs can be scary but it's the only way.

You are not being paid at all fairly.
You will not get a rise let alone a substantial one there.
Bite the bullet, get your CV up to date. Only use specialised agencies for your sector.
Has anyone approached you in the past? Do you have contacts who value your skills. Use your network.

Sorry OP but they are not treating you at all well.

[Sexnotgender]

Yes, I have lots of responsibility and know what I am doing.

Then your pay is shit.

I’m a consultant, and on the same as you. I work very much 9-5.

[pitterpatterrain]

It’s not stupid of you - it’s silly of them

They should want to keep talent, their loss

[pitterpatterrain]

To be honest for 8 years senior consultant in London I would also assume more like £70-80k

Is that your MBA entry role level?

Look around - you don’t owe anything to your company especially if they are underpaying you

We are recruiting (specific type of consulting but we do have people occasionally join from D) and seems that others are too

Go by responsibilities not title / salary and you may be surprised the kind of jump you can get

[QuentinBunbury]

I think you should move company and negotiate hard for next grade up

[PayGap]

@NiceGerbil

What sort of his hours are you doing?

Nearly a decade experience so know what you're doing and have plenty of responsibility I imagine.

London yes?

I think they are banking on their brand attracting people because. not my sector ID have assumed maybe 80+ and decent bonus.

Yes London based.

Hours are dependent on project but never less than 8 and can creep up to 12 per day or more and sometimes weekends.

Yes, I have lots of responsibility and know what I am doing.

I am also shit at negotiating, and also feel that I don’t want to go to them and say pay me 80k, what if that’s quite high for this grade, also embarrassed to ask, what will the boss think about me etc etc

I kno this s stupid of me, and my performance reviews have been great as well. :(

[NiceGerbil]

What sort of his hours are you doing?

Nearly a decade experience so know what you're doing and have plenty of responsibility I imagine.

London yes?

I think they are banking on their brand attracting people because. not my sector ID have assumed maybe 80+ and decent bonus.

[NiceGerbil]

Many companies have stopped publishing pay bands.

Two jobs I've had I've found out I was on 30% less than the men on the same job. I always got excellent performance reviews etc.

I am paid properly now but it was through a good agency (I am shit at negotiating) and I took a line that he was erm are you sure. But I said yep and it worked.

[PayGap]

This is just making me sadder - validation of my belief. That’s the thing, there is no information available that can help me understand what’s a ball park salary for this role, which is fairly standard. While joining I enquired about the pay band but no helpful information.

I think keeping salaries hidden works only in the best interest of the employer and not the worker.

Changing jobs is a scary territory for me, and can’t quit without another one in hand. Also, my job gives me 0 time to prepare for a new job.

What’s a good salary for this role? I am shocked at one of the pp s comment of warning 70k, 14 years ago. I really doubt if they are paying this much at the M band even now. But I may be wrong.

[NiceGerbil]

I'm genuinely taken aback.

Get a different job.

Also that's when you get the pay hikes (if you channel man style pay negotiation techniques NAMALT obv)