TUC: Gender pay gap affects women in their 30s

The gender pay gap between working men and women is at its widest when females are in their 30s, research from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed.

A report by the body, Closing the Gender Pay Gap, has shown that there is a dramatic increase in the difference between male and female paycheques in their 20s and 30s.

Women in their 20s earn 3.3% less than their male counterparts while females in their 30s take home 11.2% less than men of the same age.

'Despite girls outperforming boys at school and at university, too many employers are still failing to make use of women's skills,' TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, remarked.

Mr Barber noted that as the pay gap is at its worst between the ages of 30 to 39, women are 'paying an unacceptable penalty simply for having children.'

This follows a recent poll from Monster that found employers are not doing enough to encourage new mums back to work.

Mr Barber added that such problems are bad for the UK economy and women need better access to quality, well-paid part-time work.