Working women losing out on £330,000 in gender pay gap

They still earn more than 17 per cent less than men on average and campaigners say it will take at least two decades for them to catch up.

For those who have managed to reach the boardroom it is even worse, with the pay gap among directors widening in the last year to as much as 26 per cent.

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While male colleagues were paid an average salary of £70,657, some female directors in the service sector received £56,933 for doing the same job, according to figures compiled by the Institute of Directors.

A separate report by the Office for National Statistics said that although the pay gap between the sexes had narrowed ever so slightly in the last 12 months it still remained more than 17 per cent.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission accused the Government of not going far enough in its pledge to tackle pay inequality and demanded legislation on the problem. Baroness Prosser, its deputy chairman, said progress was moving at a "snail's pace".

"It will still take at least two decades to resolve this injustice," she said. "Women who work fulltime are cheated of around £330,000 over the course of their lifetime. This is blatant unfairness."

She added: "This is not just about an extra pair of shoes for a night out. Nationwide, women are less able to save for a pension, leaving them poverty-stricken in old age.

The low wages of many single mums leaves them struggling to pay the household bills.

"Now is the time to drag the Equal Pay Act into the 21st century."

The Institute of Directors said its survey of almost 4,000 bosses showed the biggest gender pay gaps were in the service and voluntary sectors where female pay was as much as 26 per cent below that of their male counterparts.

Miles Templeman, director general of the Institute, said: "We would really like to know why this remains such an insoluble problem. Unless we can achieve equality in the near future, we will inevitably face further regulation."

Female workers in the financial services sector saw the biggest improvement, with the pay gap closing from 14 per cent to nine per cent, said the ONS.

But overall the pay gap closed by only 0.3 per cent over the last year, from 17.5 per cent to 17.2 per cent, it said.

Carolyn McCall, chairman of Opportunity Now, a charity that works with employers to eliminate workplace barriers for women, described the figures as "shocking".

"In 2007 a person's gender should not have such a significant impact on their pay packet," she added.

Lib Dem equality spokesman Jo Swinson accused the Government of "dithering". She said: "Their timid action taken means the pay gap still persists from the shop floor all the way to the boardroom."