For full-time employees, the pay gap is 12.2 per cent, down from 12.6 per cent in 2008, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, full-time female employees working in the private sector are paid on average 20.8 per cent less than their male colleagues, compared to a difference of 11.6 per cent in the public sector.  

Dianah Worman, diversity adviser at HR and recruitment body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), says: ‘The government faces an uphill struggle in its efforts to change employer attitudes to closing the gender pay gap, which the latest ONS figures show still remain far too wide.’

A survey from the CIPD revealed that only one in five private sector employers measure their gender pay gap.

Ingrid Waterfield, head of reward at professional services firm KPMG, says: ‘Equal pay audits can help to tangibly measure the achievement of fairness, and we believe that a fair approach to reward and recognition has a positive impact on employee engagement.’

Research from consultancy firm DDI revealed that female managers receive less specialist training at all levels of the career ladder, with 28 per cent more men than women receiving specialist training at the first level of management – rising to 50 per cent more men at the executive level.