He added: “The Employment Rights Bill can help to close the gender pay gap by banning exploitative practices like zero-hours contracts that hit women the hardest, and introducing fair pay agreements will boost pay and conditions in social care which has a female-dominated workforce.
The union organisation said the gender pay gap has remained “stubbornly high” for years and was higher in professions dominated by female workers, such as healthcare and social work as well as sectors including finance and insurance.
The TUC said its analysis suggested the 13.1% pay gap means that the average woman effectively works for free for nearly seven weeks compared to the average man.
The research found that women aged 40 to 49 have a gender pay gap of 16.5%, rising to almost 19% for those aged between 50 and 59.
Women have worked for free so far this year because of the gender pay gap, according to a new report.
