Women are effectively now working for free until the end of the year because of the gender pay gap, according to equality campaigners.

The Fawcett Society, a charity for womens' rights, has dubbed Thursday 'equal pay day' (EPD) and called for men to get behind its efforts to secure equality through closing the gulf between what men and women earn.

It said the current gap of almost 14% would take 60 years to eradicate at current levels of progress.

The society's report said that having children remained the most considerable barrier to pay parity.

Separate research by The Start Up Loans Company showed one-in-five mothers being overlooked for a pay rise or bonus because they have kids. Having a family was also seen as a major hurdle to promotion.


Image: The Government says the UK has the lowest gender pay gap on record

The Fawcett Society said 50,000 women were leaving their jobs early every year after having a baby or becoming pregnant, adding that the roles women have are more likely to be low paid and not pay bonuses.

Chief executive Sam Smethers said: "A root cause of the gender pay gap is that we don't value the work done by women.

"As we mark EPD this year we are focusing on the fundamental question of who and what we value and asking why it is that we don't value women and the work they do - paid or unpaid.

"Equal value goes to the heart of the fight for pay equality, because the reality is that if it is a sector dominated by women the pay will be lower.

"As we look ahead to a UK outside the EU and possibly the single market, we have to guard against the risk of going backwards and losing some of the rights that women have fought for over many years."

The study was released shortly after a Government-backed review called for Britain's biggest firms to have at least a third of their key positions held by women by 2020.

There are currently six FTSE 100 firms with female chief executives - with their ranks due to swell next year when Emma Walmsley takes over from Sir Andrew Witty at GSK.

Ministers admit there is more to do in tackling inequality but point to the UK having the lowest gender pay gap on record and the introduction of shared parental leave.

A Government spokesman said: "We are requiring employers to publish their gender pay and gender bonus gap for the first time from April and we are giving working parents up to 30 hours of free childcare from next September, meaning women can go back to work and progress in their careers after having children if they choose to."