Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that has identified an 18 per cent gap between men's and women's earnings.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) research notes that the differential in average earnings between women and men remains substantial. The Office for National Statistics figures show that the gender pay gap has been virtually eliminated for women under 40 years of age working full-time, and has decreased for all women over 40 years of age working full-time, but we know that there is more to do. New regulations requiring large employers to be more transparent will take us one step closer to eliminating the gender pay gap within a generation.

The IFS research also highlighted that the gender pay gap widens once women start a family. We have extended the right to request flexible working to all employees; introduced a new system of shared parental leave; and committed to providing 30 hours of free childcare a week for working families.