Skip to main content
The Web    CNN.com      Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SERVICES
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SEARCH
Web CNN.com
powered by Yahoo!
Business

Expenses gap still yawns


story.desk.afp.jpg
A recent survey shows women are queried more often than men about their expense claims.
YOUR SAY
Is there a gap in male-female expense accounts in your office? Have your say
ON CNNI TV
Click here for Global Office show times on CNN International.
GLOBAL OFFICE
Are you hungry for information? Click here for stories
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Global Office

LONDON, England -- When it comes to claiming corporate travel expenses there is still a gap between the sexes.

In a recent survey of European business travelers, women were queried more regularly about expense claims than their male colleagues.

Women were also more likely to regularly choose four and five star hotels when they are away on business than men.

The results are part of Visa's EU Business Travel Survey 2004, which included responses from 901 executive travelers from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

In total 33 percent of female expense claims are regularly queried, compared with just 25 percent for male claims.

"The questioning of expenses has a direct impact on personal authority; an impact that the male ego might find difficult to weather," psychology professor Cary Cooper told Business Traveller magazine.

"These findings may also be illustrative of women's role within the workplace. It is really only in the last 18 years that women have entered the management arena."

However, it is not all bad news for women -- 76 percent of female travelers now regularly choose four star and five star hotels. Fewer men (69 percent) do the same.

The 2004 survey also shows that each year female executives spend almost as many nights away from home (average 15.1) as men do (average 15.9).

The study also found that finance industry professionals are the most likely to stay in pricey four and five star hotels (79 percent) compared with the average (69 percent) for all business travelers.

People from this industry also take more time filling out the expense claims than their colleagues, taking an average time of 32 minutes a month for creative accounting.

Only 27 percent of room service bills and only 19 percent of minibar claims are reimbursed without query for finance professionals, compared with an average of 39 percent.


Story Tools
Subscribe to Time for $1.99 cover
Top Stories
CNN/Money: Convictions in Tyco case
Top Stories
CNN/Money: Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards

International Edition
CNN TV CNN International Headline News Transcripts Advertise With Us About Us
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.
Add RSS headlines.