A GROUP of female MPs is launching a website to give women tips on tackling the gender pay gap with their employers as the wide disparity in British workplaces is revealed.

The MPs are demanding action as companies are forced to reveal the difference in the rate they pay to the different sexes.

Private firms have until midnight tomorrow to report their pay gaps. If they fail to release they data they will face hefty fines.

As the public sector deadline approached on Good Friday, it was revealed that nine out of ten employers pay women on average 14% less than male colleagues.

Private firms have started to reveal their figures too. Nissan pays women 15% more than men, but in most cases the statistics show a shameful imbalance firmly in favour of men.

Recent research showed that women earn nearly a quarter of a million pounds less than men over the course of a lifetime. The difference is caused by a lack of women in senior jobs, having caring responsibilities, or the age-old problem of discrimination.

More needs to be done to get more women into male-dominated sectors and into senior positions. Helping parents share childcare more equally and supporting women back into the workforce after taking time out through flexible working opportunities would make a big difference, too.

It is good to see that the Government is serious about exposing the issue but where companies have a gap, there should be a requirement to close it. Without action women face a lifetime of unequal pay.