The East of England has the largest disparity in the country between what men and women are paid – with a 21.5% difference in pay.

The figure outstrips the national average of 18.1%, as a percentage of male pay, and equates to an average of £2.82 less an hour.

The figures were compiled by the Equality and Human Rights Commission as part of a report into pay gaps throughout society and ways to close them. The study says Norfolk has a median wage per hour gap of 20.2% while Suffolk has a gap of 22.4%, with Essex having a 20.4% difference.

From next April, companies with more than 250 employees will have to report their average gender pay gap as well as the proportion of men and women in each quartile of their pay structure. The commission has called for jobs to be more flexible, which it said would prevent women having to take career breaks for childcare which prevent them climbing the ladder. The report also called for paternity leave to be made more financially appealing to encourage the sharing of responsibilities. Shared parental currently does include the six-week period paid at 90% of full salary which is included in maternity pay.

Employment lawyer Jeanette Wheeler, partner at law firm Birketts, echoed the call for flexibility. She said: 'There is a sense that it is harder for women in business here than it is in some big cities. I like the idea of all jobs being advertised for part-time or flexible working. Women are fearful of asking for a job on a part-time basis before they have got the job. If you look at the sex discrimination laws and flexible working jobs, it would be very difficult to convince an employment judge that a job cannot be job shared, apart from a chief executive perhaps. However, companies are still reluctant to consider part-time working.'

Lynn Walters, director at East Anglian executive recruitment firm Pure, was unsurprised by the figures. She said: 'As a region we have got lots of businesses that are family-owned that haven't historically had a lot of change at a senior management or board level. It means there are not as many women coming through into leadership roles, and that is going to impact the pay gap.'

She added there were two sides to tackling the problem, with a change in mindset of what makes a good leader needed, and more female role models needed.