British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced plans to force large companies to publish the difference in earnings between male and female staff in a bid to ensure equal pay.
Writing in an article in The Times, Mr Cameron said the move "will cast sunlight on the discrepancies and create the pressure we need for change, driving women's wages up."
Currently, women on average are paid roughly 20% less than men in Britain, meaning a woman, on average, earns around 80p for every £1 earned by a man, a discrepancy Mr Cameron vowed to end "in a generation".
More than 10 million workers across the country will be covered by the new rules affecting firms with more than 250 employees, which were a concession to the Liberal Democrats by the Conservatives in the final month of the previous coalition government.
Mr Cameron confirmed that the new Tory administration would press ahead with the measure.
John Allan, national chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses, said that there were more women directors that ever before and welcomed the government's plan.
"To help support this trend we need to keep up the momentum and break down the remaining barriers that prevent women progressing in the workplace and the boardroom, and so we welcome, and look forward to taking part in, the government's gender pay gap consultation," Mr Allan said.
