The pay gap for women in their 20s is now five times greater than it was in 2011. Six years ago, the gender pay gap between younger men and women was just 1.1%, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). In 2017, that figure has risen to 5.5%.

However, older women are still the most severely affected by the gender pay gap. The ONS reports that women in their 50s are paid on average 18.6% less than their male colleagues, while data collected by the Fawcett Society shows that the pay gap gets dramatically worse when women hit their 40s.

The gender pay gap is widest in London (20.7%) and the south-east of England (16.3%). It is narrowest in Wales (8.3%) and the north-east of England (10.2%).

Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said: “The pay gap is widening for older women as it grows over our working lives but we are now seeing a widening of the pay gap for younger women too, which suggests we are going backwards and that is extremely worrying.”

The gender pay gap is officially getting worse for women in their 20s