Women in the Forest of Dean earn far less than men, new figures released ahead of Equal Pay Day have revealed.

Women’s rights charity the Fawcett Society has estimated based on average earnings across the country, women will effectively work for free from November 22 until the end of the year.

Office for National Statistics figures show women in the Forest of Dean were earning an average of £12.74 per hour as of April, while men were paid £15.48 – a gap of 17.7%.

The average pay gap in the country stood at 8.2% this year, with male workers making £18.14 per hour, while female workers earned £16.65.

The figures are based on full-time workers’ median wages and exclude overtime pay.

Equal Pay Day will be marked on November 22 this year, after which “women start working for free until the end of the year,” Jemima Olchawski, chief executive at the Fawcett Society said.

She added: “This is just 48 hours later than last year and represents a glacial shift in the gender pay gap of just 0.2 percentage points.

“There are so many policy interventions that could turn the dial but the simplest of them all is making flexible work the default.

“A lack of genuinely flexible, quality work traps women in roles below their capabilities and encourages the notion that flexible work is a privilege, not an essential part of a modern economy. This is a big reason we have a persistent gender pay gap which harms women and our economy.”

In the Forest of Dean men’s wages saw an annual growth of 17.7%, while women earned 0.7% less than they did a year ago.

Rebecca Florisson, principal analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said: “Although the gender pay gap has narrowed over time, it remains substantial. We know that women are nearly twice as likely as men to be in insecure and low-paid work, and the picture is even worse for mothers.

She added: “We must ensure fewer women feel the need to trade job security against flexibility. That means boosting the provision of affordable care and childcare options, and embedding flexibility across a much greater proportion of secure and well paid jobs.”

The figures also revealed the gender pay gap in the Forest of Dean widened by a further 15.3 points this year.

Women in the South East of England suffered the greatest inequality, with a pay difference of 12.9%, while Scotland reported the narrowest gap – 1.7%.

In the South West the gender pay gap stood at 10.5%.

A spokesperson for the Government’s Equality Hub said: “The gender pay gap has been trending downwards since 1997, and the Government continues to take significant action to ensure women can reach their full potential at work.

“We are starting a childcare revolution with an increase to 30 hours free childcare from 9 months to school age, £100 million in capital funding to help nurseries expand, and £289 million for the wraparound care across the country.

“Millions of employees will be able to request flexible working from day one, and our STEM returners programme is getting carers back into the workplace.”