There's both good news and bad news on the UK academic salary front. On the plus side, academic salaries across Britain average £36,500 (US$68,700), in line with faculty wages in the United States and Western Europe, at least on the entry level, according to an analysis of the UK's Higher Education Statistics Agency staff record for 2004–05 published by The Times Higher Education Supplement.

On the minus side, there's a difference of some £21,000 between average salaries at the top and bottom of the table (and that's without putting the £114,000 average salaries at the London Business School into the equation).

The apparently wide variations between institutions must be treated with caution, however. Four of the six highest-paying universities — with average salaries of over £40,000 — are based in London. That reflects the higher cost of living there, as well as a drive by Imperial College and University College London to be more internationally competitive. The lowest payer, Lancaster University, with an average salary of £21,686, is based in the north, but Lancaster's administrators say that they included pay for postgraduate researchers. Other variations can be at least partially accounted for by universities that employ large numbers of research staff, such as the University of Oxford (£33,879) and Durham University (£35,201).

The real bad news is still for female academics. Even those of professorial rank are being paid 6% less than their male counterparts, and some institutions are paying women 10% less than men.

Despite the caveats, the analysis provides an impetus for all UK universities to re-examine their pay structure and ask themselves whether young researchers and women are fairly compensated. Universities with average salaries near the national average might congratulate themselves — but they should look at the range of the salaries they offer. And to be even more competitive in attracting researchers, they could use an international benchmark, rather than a national one. Doing so could make Britain more desirable for researchers weighing global career options.