Women reach the height of their earning power at the age of 34, while men’s salaries continue to rise until they are 50.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that the difference stems from women returning to work part-time after having children.

The average woman today reaches an earning peak of £13.19 per hour, whilst the average man will see his earning power reach its height at £15.54 per hour on average.

Until the age of 30, official figures revealed that the gender pay gap is now ‘close to zero’ – a ‘dramatic’ reduction since the mid-1970s.

Despite this, workers have to wait a decade longer to hit earning their earning peak than during 1970s, but are paid more when they do reach this peak.

The report, titled UK Wages over the last Four Decades, showed that the group with the highest average earnings in 1975 were 29-year-olds.

In 1975, a 38-year-old man typically earned 61% more than a woman, whereas in 2013, the gender pay gap peaked at the age of 49, when men earned 45% more than their female counterparts.

The report also found that those who started work in the 1990s have been paid on average 40% more in real terms in their first 18 years of work than those who started in the 1970s.

This means that someone who started work in 1975 would have to work three to four years longer than those who started work in 1985 to build up around the same amount of earnings, and five to six years longer than those who started their career in 1995.

The ONS said that someone beginning their career aged 21 in 1975 typically earned 94p per hour which equates to £5.49 in 2013 prices.

 

Visit our Knowledge Bank for a range of diversity, leadership reports and statistics