The data from 2021 showed the gender pay gap widening four times faster in the UK than the average for the OECD, largely due to the financial penalty from motherhood.

According to PwC’s annual women in work index, the UK dropped five places to 14th in the ranking of the 38 members of the OECD.

Overall progress towards gender equality at work across the OECD has been exceedingly slow over the last 10 years, with a persistent gender pay gap of 14%, down only 2.5% since 2011.

According to PwC, women across the OECD earned 86.2% of what men earned in 2021, illustrating that the gender pay gap remains a problem.