Men belonging to a select group of ‘stand-out’ lawyers were paid nearly 30% more than their women counterparts in the last year, according to a study. 

A survey by market research company Acritas showed male equity partners around the world were paid 27% more on average than females in the same elite group.

The survey does not give a firm-specific breakdown but is based on information given by 828 ‘Acritas Stars’ – lawyers nominated by in-house counsel during an earlier research study.

Lisa Hart Shepherd, chief executive of Acritas, said: ‘It is astonishing to see such a large gender pay gap at equity partner level. For women that have achieved equity partner status, they should be facing a more equal playing field but clearly this is not the case.’

The figures are particularly topical given the controversy sparked by the decision taken by most UK firms to omit equity partners from their pay gap data.

The legislation, under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations, required firms with 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap by 4 April.

But the exclusion of partners prompted criticism that firms had provided a ‘carve-out’ for a mainly male and very highly remunerated group.

In the face of a backlash some firms subsequently reported the gender pay gap with their partnerships. Others went a step further and reported the gap between partners and employees.

At Dentons, the world’s largest firm by number of offices, the partnership pay gap was 23%, while at international firm HFW the gap was 8.7%. Mills & Reeve a 10.5% gap and Reed Smith a 0.8% gap. Eversheds Sutherland bucked the trend reporting a 10% gap between equity partners in favour of women.

Acritas said contributing factors could include a higher proportion of female equity partners specialising in ’labor’, where ‘equity partners are paid significantly less, regardless of their gender’.

Pay also increases with years of experience and Acritas said its data shows women equity partners have generally been partners for a shorter number of years.