Women bosses paid less than men but Harman vows to close gender gap

Minister for Women Harriet Harman said the pay gap between men and women is "unfair in principle" and prevents women from fulfilling their potential at work.

The report says women workers win promotion faster and reach the boardroom earlier. But they are still paid comparatively less than men.

The poll of more than 42,000 managers found that females tend to reach the first rung of the management ladder at 37, five years earlier than a man can expect to get there. And women who reach the boardroom do so on average at the age of 44 - four years younger than the average male director.

However, Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the The Chartered Management Institute, which conducted the research, said:

"Salary is an issue and the fact that the earnings growth is behind men for the first time in 11 years is worrying."

Authors of the Chartered Management Institute report said women are promoted more quickly because they are more driven than men.

They are also more likely than men to leave their jobs - partly because, the Institute said, they have a greater entrepreneurial spirit and are looking to find something better or start their own business.

Other analysts said the findings deeply undermine the theory that a "glass ceiling" keeps women in low and middle-ranking jobs.

Jill Kirby, of the Centre for Policy Studies think tank, said: "This is a clear demonstration that there is no prejudice against women at work."

Despite the quicker promotion prospects, the study, found that women's pay rises were on average less than men's.

But they were more likely than men to collect a bonus. The findings showed that a woman manager is likely to reach the level of team leader at age 37, compared with 42 for men.

Women become heads of department at a typical age of 40, compared with 43 for men.

And a female executive can expect to hit director level at 44, an age at which a man must wait a further four years before getting to the boardroom.

Of women managers, 7.8 per cent quit their jobs last year against 6.4 per cent of male executives. However, this was the closest gap between the sexes for 13 years.

The figures reflect the likelihood that women will give up work to have babies. But the closing gap appears to suggest that women are increasingly likely to go on with their jobs after having children.