As part of its ongoing inquiry into gender pay gaps in the financial sector, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published a new report which reveals that the pay gap can be up to 60% in some sectors.

The report also shows that, amongst those in the top jobs, the pay gap for full-time hourly gross earnings is 45%, and in the lowest-paid positions women are paid on average 16% less than men in equivalent roles.

The areas where the gap was most pronounced included fund management, stock broking and futures trading (areas known within the subsector as “auxiliary activities”), with women being paid a staggering 60% less annual gross salary than men - more than twice the national average.

In 2007/8, 70% of men working in the sector received more than £29,400, while in the same period 70% of women earned less than £29,500. Throughout the sector as a whole, women working full-time earn 55% less hourly gross pay than men.

Annual incentive pay levels (including bonuses) show a 79% gap between the sexes for full-time workers in finance.

The inequality of the sector is not simply limited to pay levels. Although there are a roughly equivalent number of men and women working in the finance sector, only 28% of those in professional roles and 11% of senior managers are female.

Trevor Phillips, Chair of the EHRC, commented, “The truth is that however you look at the numbers, women do not have equal status or equal rewards. Nobody wants this kind of unfairness, including the businesses themselves. We are losing or not taking advantage of talented women from a crucial industry - something we can ill afford in these troubled times.”

The report is published as the initial stage of the Commission’s inquiry into pay inequality in the financial sector. The final report is due to be published later this year.

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