Increase in gender pay gap

The gender pay gap has increased over the past year and now stands at 17.1 per cent, official figures show.

The difference in earnings of full-time women and male workers rose by 0.1 per cent over the year.

The gap for part-timers also widened to more than 36 per cent.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Today's shock increase in the gender pay gap makes the case for decisive action more pressing than ever.

"This is an injustice for both women and men. As redundancies mount, more women may find themselves as the sole or main income earner.

"It's more important than ever that they are not underpaid for what they do."

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