[samhw]

Parity is not identity (nor equivalent to it, lol). The two jobs are importantly equal in their difficulty and (more directly) their value, and not - among the many other differences - the number of people they manage. This thinking is why valuable individual contributors move to companies where progression isn't defined in terms of the number of reports you have (respectfully).

[JJMcJ]

Late reply.

My point is not number of reports, but number of people.

A directorate might have 25 managers, and maybe 200 developers. Of those developers 4 or 5 might be staff/principal, and it might be as small as 1 or 2, or even zero.

So far fewer people move up the technical ladder than up the management ladder.