WOMEN in Scotland will lose more than £70,000 over their lifetime because of the gender pay gap, new analysis has revealed.

The research shows that women earn less than men in every age group, amounting to £73,620 less on average over a woman’s working life.

Women aged 50-59 earn 22% less than men – losing out to the tune of £7362 each year – with their median gross annual earnings calculated at £26,079 while men’s are £33,441.

In the 40-49 bracket the gap is 18% – or a difference of £6512 – with women earning £28,557 per year and men earning £34,709.

In the 30-39 bracket the gap drops to 9%, a difference of £2796 per year, with women earning £27,539 on average and men earning £30,335.

However, in the 20-29 bracket the gap is 12% – a difference of £2844 per year – with women earning £21,698 on average and men earning £24,542.

In the 18-21 bracket, where wages for both sexes are generally low, the gap is 8% – or a difference of £1320 per year – with women earning £15,096 on average and men earning £16,416.

Scottish Labour, who revealed the figures, are now calling for a civil enforcement system to ensure compliance with gender pay auditing so that all workers have fair access to employment and promotion opportunities and are treated fairly at work.

The party also believes that increasing the real living wage to £10 per hour would help solve the problem, along with ensuring that more businesses publish pay ratios. The introduction of gender audits of all policy and legislation to assess its impact on women before implementation is also being called for.

“Closing the gender pay gap isn’t just a question of fairness – it is essential for our economy,” said Scottish Labour’s economy spokesperson Jackie Baillie MSP. “There is so much more to do to shatter the glass ceiling for women.”

She said radical steps were required to close the pay gap for good, such as a real living wage increase and the publication of pay ratios.

“This gross inequality is wrong and is holding Scotland’s economy back,” she said.

More new research released this weekend and relating to the gender pay gap shows that the best-paid male graduates in the UK will earn up to £38,000 a year more than their female counterparts by the time they pay off their student loans.

The top 10% are predicted to earn an average of £82,000 – compared with £44,000 for women – in figures that reveal the gender pay gap will continue until at least 2047.

The forecasts have been described as “shocking” by Sam Smethers, of the Fawcett Society.

She said: “Women remain underpaid and undervalued. We know that progress on closing the pay gap has stalled. The mean pay gap for full-time workers hasn’t closed at all in the last three years.”