Financial Boardroom Pay Gap Narrowed 27 Percent in 2025
The regional pay disparity between European and North American financial firms fell to 10.5% as European compensation growth outpaced the U.S.
Updated on Sept. 28, 2026 in Financial Services
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The pay gap between European and North American financial services boardrooms narrowed by 27% in 2025, reaching a differential of $36,699. This shift occurred as European board pay rose 10% compared to a 4.5% increase for North American counterparts.
Why it matters
The narrowing gap reflects divergent regional growth in executive compensation that impacts talent acquisition and retention strategies for firms. While regional disparities are compressing, the broader industry continues to grapple with internal pay equity issues.
The pay gap narrowed by 27% year-over-year, settling at 10.5% in 2025. Despite the regional convergence, a significant gender remuneration gap persists globally, rising from 17.1% in 2021 to 22.4% in 2025.
The players
European Financial Services Boardrooms
Governing bodies of regional financial institutions that saw a 10% increase in average director compensation.
North American Financial Services Boardrooms
Governing bodies of regional financial institutions that saw a 4.5% increase in average director compensation.
The details
Compensation growth in European boardrooms significantly outpaced North American firms during 2025, effectively compressing the cost differential between the two markets. However, internal equity remains a challenge; in Europe, female non-executive directors earned 38.9% less than their male counterparts. This data reflects a larger market trend where global gender remuneration gaps have widened by 5.3 percentage points over the last four years.
Timeline
2021 marked the baseline for global female director population share.
2024 served as the comparison period for regional pay gap metrics.
2025 data captures the most recent board remuneration increases.
Market Landscape
The narrowing regional pay gap follows a trend of intensifying scrutiny on executive compensation structures within global financial services. This development contrasts with the documented rise in the global gender remuneration gap, which climbed to 22.4% in 2025.
Operators should benchmark their own executive compensation packages against these rising regional averages to ensure competitiveness. Management teams must account for both regional pay inflation and internal gender pay disparities when planning next year's budget.
The takeaway
Regional pay disparities are compressing as European board compensation growth accelerates, yet gender-based pay gaps continue to widen globally. Managers should audit their current director compensation frameworks to address these divergent regional and gender-based trends.
Further reading
For additional insights into industry compensation trends, see our coverage of Financial Services.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Employee Benefits.
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