5.3pc gender pay gap at education department

The gender pay gap in the Department for Education is 5.3 per cent, figures have shown, as it became the first Government department to publish the difference between the pay of men and women.

The department said it was setting an example to other employers on promoting gender equality in the workplace.

The difference between average salaries for men and women was 5.3 per cent. This is compared to the national gender pay gap of 18.1 per cent, the lowest since records began in 1997.