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Women in some of the UK's leading financial institutions receive around 80 per cent less in performance-related pay than their male colleagues, an official report has revealed.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission, in its study of 44 top financial firms, also discovered that women's starting salaries were significantly lower than those for their male counterparts.
Responding to the findings, women's minister Harriet Harman said that the Equality Bill would seek to ban secrecy clauses on pay.
The gender pay gap for basic wages in financial institutions was 39 per cent, the study found.
This rose to 47 per cent when full salary including bonuses, overtime and performance-related pay were included.
It was also revealed that women earn an average of £2,875 of annual performance-related pay, while men on the same level earned £14,554.
EHRC chairman Trevor Phillips stated: "The financial sector has the potential to play a central role in Britain's recovery, but it has to address this shocking disparity of rewards.
"For business to thrive in the new economy it simply can't afford to recruit and reward in the way it has done in the past."
And Harman added: "We cannot tackle discrimination if it is hidden which is why I asked the commission to produce this report.
"It's unlikely that men-only boards and management would ever deliver the change in working culture, such as family-friendly flexible working and childcare, that will allow women to flourish in the workplace.
"Equality is vital, not only for individuals, but for the economy and society as a whole.
"Despite many actions taken by the government since 1997, inequality and discrimination still exist, which is why we are introducing tough new measures in our Equality Bill including gender pay reporting and proposals to ban secrecy clauses which are particularly prevalent in financial services."
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