Women earn less than men at every stage of their career, rising to more than £8,000 a year by the time they reach their 50s.

The TUC said the wage gap means women workers receive £85,000 less over the course of a decade, revealing the “pay penalty” they face.

The difference starts as soon as women start work, with an 18-year-old woman in a full time job earning an average of £1,395 a year less than her male peers, the research showed.

By the age of 30, the gap widens to over £3,000 and leaps to £7,200 for women in their 40s.

The TUC said the difference showed the impact of parenthood on women’s and men’s earnings.

General secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Women suffer a huge pay penalty over the course of their careers, which peaks in their 50s. At current rates of progress it will take decades for women to achieve pay parity with men.

“Having children has starkly different effects on men’s and women’s pay, with women earning less after having kids, and men earning more.


The TUC said progress on closing the full-time gender pay gap has slowed over the last few years, calculating that at its current rate it

will take nearly half a century to achieve pay parity between women and men.

From April employers will have to publish their gender pay and bonus gaps for the first time ever.