Executive pay is soaring in Spain – but women make up only 7% of the top earners

OF THE 100 highest-paid board members of Spanish companies, only seven are women according to a new compensation report from EL PAÍS. 

This includes Ana Botín on the board of Santander and Logista’s María Echenique. Botín also has a retirement fund valued at €54.73 million.

Spain has prided itself on the world stage as a European leader in its attempt to address gender equality and pay discrimination. It’s the third largest economy in the world closest to dissolving the gender gap. 

READ MORE: Equal España: Where does Spain really rank in the EU for gender equality? 

“At a time when women’s rights are regressing in many countries, my government is committed to feminism as the backbone of its political action, and is carrying out intense legislative and executive activity,” President Pedro Sánchez said. 

In recent years, laws were enacted stating companies with more than 50 employees must have an Equality Plan that outlines action taken to address gender equality among its workforce. 

All companies must keep transparent remuneration registers for all employers, and any gender pay gap that is 25% or greater must be explained.

And while women now hold 40% of senior positions, according to a Grant Thornton 2024 report, a significant increase from only 14% two decades ago, the gender pay gap among female executives remains in stark contrast to this progress in leadership. 

Grant Thornton predicts it will also take at least another 20 years before that figure reaches 50% of women holding leadership positions.

Pay inequality between boss and employee

The CEO of Spanish security system company Prosegur earned €5.05 million in 2024, an income 361 times greater than what an average company employee there earns at  €14,000 per year. It’s the Spainish company with the highest wage gap, according to EL PAÍS.

Directors of Ibex 35 earn a salary 79 times higher than their average employees, a figure which has hardly changed in the last five years. This means that, even in two lifetimes with 72 years of work, its employees would still not make the equivalent what their bosses earn for just one year of work.

The board million-dollar salary club has also increased in number, with 84 board directors earning salaries of more than one million euros last year.

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