According to the Fawcett Society, today, 9 November, is Equal Pay Day, the day when women in the UK in full time employment in effect stop earning relative to men’s wages.

Office for National Statistics reveal the pay gap for men and women working full-time is 14.2%.

The government recently pledged to do more to bring women’s pay in line with men’s, with David Cameron vowing to “close the pay gap in a generation”.

But gender equality charity the Fawcett Society believes at the current rate of progress it will take over 50 years to close the gap.

Sam Smethers, chief executive, said: “There has never been a better opportunity to close the pay gap for good. Progress has stalled in recent years but with real commitment for government and employers, together with action from women and men at work, we could speed up progress towards the day when we can consign it to history.

“We welcome the inclusion of bonus payments and the extension of the new regulations to the public sector.  But new regulations on pay should require an action plan alongside the pay gap with tough penalties for employers who do not comply.

“The message to women and men at work is – it’s OK to talk about pay.  How can we achieve pay equality if we don’t even know what our colleagues earn?  It is time to have the conversation and ask your employer if they are ready for the new pay gap reporting requirements.”

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