according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The disparity between average wages for men and women is 12.8%, or £2,548 per year, according to TUC analysis of official pay data. It is widest in the finance and insurance industry, at 27.2%. In the leisure service sector it was only 1.5%. The gender pay gap measures the difference in salaries paid to men and women in the same industries. Employers with more than 250 UK staff must report pay data.

The government said it was "tackling the root causes of the gender pay gap and backing women to succeed at work". Even in industries where woman make up a majority of the workforce, such as education and health and social care, the gender pay gaps are 17% and 12.8%, respectively. Pay disparity between genders means that the average woman employee "effectively works for 47 days of the year for free," the TUC said.

"Women have effectively been working for free for the first month and a half of the year compared to men," TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said. "With the cost of living still biting hard, women simply can't afford to keep losing out. They deserve their fair share". Nowak pointed to the recent Employment Rights Act as a "an important step forward for pay parity" but said the government needed to increase access to paid parental leave so "mums and dads can better share care". The gender pay gap is widest for workers aged 50-59, which the group of unions argues is partly due to the long-term effects of women pausing or reducing their career ambitions and pay to prioritize caring responsibilities. The TUC, the national federation of trade unions, wants improved access to flexible working and better access to childcare in order to help close the gap. (BBC/PA)