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Welsh firms will benefit if they pay women properly, Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has told an event in Cardiff.

He said the UK economy was "dependent on harnessing the talent of women, capitalising on the wealth of skill they bring to our workplaces".

From April, all UK firms with more than 250 employees will have to publish their gender pay gaps.

Research this week suggested the average female salary was 20% lower than that for men.

The pay gap for management roles was even larger at about a quarter, according to analysis by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Everyone stands to gain if there are positive steps, says Alun Cairns

Mr Cairns urged businesses in Wales to be "forward thinking and transparent" as they implemented the UK government's gender pay gap legislation.

"Experience shows that those companies that have published the data, those companies that have taken positive steps to close the gap not only serve their staff better but the performance of the company is also much better in the long run," he told BBC Wales.

"Not only will the individuals benefit, the business will benefit and the economy will benefit.

"This is a situation where everyone stands to gain if there are positive steps."