There is a great deal to be done in order to put women in a position where they would have to be paid equally to men.

Such is the opinion of Sarah Veal, head of equality and employment rights at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), who said that the gender pay differential will decrease, but it is a "question of whether we should be prepared to wait".

She commented: "We might have to say: ‘Look, it’s not acceptable any longer that you don’t do more to accommodate women and you’re going to have to invest in them by doing things differently.’"

Ms Veal went on to say that the TUC does not approve of the gender pay gap, adding that the organisation wants the perception of women’s worth in the workplace to change and not to be based on how many hours they spend in the office.

Earlier this month, the congress suggested that more needs to be done in order to encourage men to take time off work to raise a family.