Gender pay gap will take 70 years to close

IT will take 70 years before the gender pay gap closes worldwide, the United Nations has claimed.

And it will be another 81 years before women have the same chance as men of becoming a chief executive, and 50 before women are just as likely to lead their country.

According to the International Labour Organization, there is not a single country in the world which has yet achieved gender equality.

The UN agency found women who start families before they turned 25 suffered a particularly large ‘wage penalty’.

Executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, speaking ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday, said there were fewer than 20 female heads of state and government worldwide. She said world leaders must ensure that ‘promoting gender equality’ is a ‘top issue on their agenda, which it isn’t now’.

The gender gap highlighted by the UN came as a separate report finds found 600,000 UK women over 50 are struggling to get back into work.

A report by Dr Ros Altmann, the Government’s business champion for older workers, found there was not enough work for women who are carers or those seeking flexible jobs.

The highest proportion of carers is among women aged 50 to 64.