Qantas has revealed its first female CEO's salary. One expert says there's a gender pay gap

Vanessa Hudson, who will take over as Qantas CEO from Alan Joyce in November, will have a base salary around 25 per cent less than her predecessor.

Newly appointed Qantas CEO, and current CFO, Vanessa Hudson will be paid a base salary of $1.6 million. Outgoing CEO Alan Joyce has a base salary of $2.17 million. Source: AAP / Biance De Marchi

Key Points

• Qantas has revealed the base salary of incoming CEO Vanessa Hudson.
• Ms Hudson will be paid a base salary of $1.6 million, while Mr Joyce had a base salary of $2.17 million.
• The new CEO will have a target total remuneration of $5.76 million including bonuses.

Qantas has revealed the pay packet of its incoming CEO, with Vanessa Hudson set to take home a base salary of $1.6 million.

Outgoing CEO Alan Joyce has a base salary of $2.17 million - a difference of roughly 25 per cent.

According to Qantas, Ms Hudson - who is Qantas Group’s Chief Financial Officer and has held a number of executive positions at the company over 28 years - will have a target total remuneration of $5.76 million.

The target total remuneration includes short and long-term bonuses, with the actual take-home pay depending on Qantas meeting a series of targets including financial, safety, and environmental.

Qantas shareholders will be asked to vote on the CEO's remuneration at the company's annual general meeting in November.

Is Vanessa Hudson being paid less than Alan Joyce?

Alan Joyce, who is retiring in November, had a target total remuneration of $8.4 million in his final year in the role, 30 per cent higher than Ms Hudson's in her first year.

When Mr Joyce started as CEO, his initial base pay was $2 million, while his target total remuneration was $5.25 million.

His base pay was around 24 per cent lower than his predecessor Geoff Dixon, while his target total remuneration was around 22 per cent lower.

Eliza Littleton, senior economist at the Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work, described the difference in pay between Ms Hudson and Mr Joyce as an example of the gender pay gap.

"It is shocking to see a high-profile place where the gender pay gap is so obvious," she told SBS News.

"The main issue being that her incoming salary is less than the incoming salary of the former male CEO, even though he came into the position in 2008.

"We would expect her to be earning a salary that's higher, that's indexed and can (reflect) inflation that's occurred since 2008."

Vanessa Hudson will become the next CEO and Managing Director of Qantas. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

The pay gap encompasses not only women being paid less than men for similar roles, but also women filling fewer positions in leadership roles and on boards.

"It reflects the fact that we do - in a structural and cultural way - value the labour of women less than the labour of men," Ms Littleton said.

What did Qantas say about the CEO pay?

In a statement, Qantas said the long-term trend in corporate Australia and globally was for new CEOs to have a lower starting salary than their predecessor's final salary, which typically increases during their tenure in line with experience and performance.

Qantas said that when Alan Joyce was appointed CEO he was also paid 25 per cent less than his predecessor, and Ms Hudson’s total remuneration package is around $500,000 higher than Alan’s first year as CEO.