Female finance directors are earning more money than some of their chief executive counter-parts, the Guardian has revealed in its executive pay survey.

Cairn Energy FD Jann Brown earned £1.9m, which ranked her as the third-highest paid female executive in the UK. Lloyd's TSB FD Helen Weir was ranked 5th with an annual salary of £1.3m.

Rona Fairhead, the FD of Pearson who was subsequently promoted to chief executive, also faired well with earnings of £1.1m to place her seventh.

The strong performance of the FDs placed them ahead of other high profile directors, such as Whitbread executive director Angie Risley (£1.2m) and Drax chief executive Dorothy Thompson (£731,800).

Further reading:

Profile: Helen Weir, FD of Lloyds TSB

Profile: Jann Brown, FD of Cairn Energy