The insurance industry pays female executives and general managers 34.4% less than their male counterparts, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

The agency measured the pay gap in 19 industry sectors across four management categories.

Financial and insurance services is the only sector to appear among the three worst offenders in each category.

It tops the “other executives and general managers” category, followed by arts and recreation services (27% pay gap) and public administration and safety (26.5%). The all-industry average gap is 27.5%.

In the “key management personnel” category, the financial and insurance services gap is 27.3%, behind accommodation and food services (44.7%) and arts and recreation services (35.1%). The average is 28.9%.

Financial and insurance services companies pay women in “senior manager” roles 26.5% less than their male counterparts – higher than the 20% gap in administrative and support services but below the 28.7% gap in retail trading. The all-industry average is 23.5%.

In the “other managers” category the pay gap in financial and insurance services is 20.1%, behind retail trade (21.1%) and administrative and support services (23.1%). The average is 24.6%.

Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) CEO Prue Willsford says the industry’s performance is “incredibly disappointing, but not surprising”.

She told insuranceNEWS.com.au ANZIIF’s Women in Insurance survey last year identified the gender pay gap as the leading issue for women. The full survey results have yet to be released.

Ms Willsford expects the issue to feature prominently in the eight-city Connecting Women, Creating Leaders roundtable series in Australia from March 4-19 and New Zealand from April 14-16. See other story

The survey results will be presented at these events.

“We recognise it’s an issue, we know it’s a major topic of conversation and it’s important for the industry to engage in that conversation constructively,” Ms Willsford said.