Research conducted by one of the UK’s largest accountants has revealed that men in engineering earn up to 30% more than women in the same roles.

Hemel Hempstead-based SJD accountants has analysed salaries of both male and females in the sector revealing some astonishing figures.

According to the analysis females with job titles such as mechanical engineer or maintenance engineer earn almost a third less than males with the same occupation.

Derek Kelly, CEO of Optionis which owns SJD Accountancy said: “The gender pay gap has been a topic of increasing conversation, putting the difference in salary into real terms has been shocking.

“This information now highlights the genuine impact that this can have not only on employees but their families and long-term prospects.”

The gender pay gap has been an increasingly important and developing conversation for a number of years within the media and government.

Increasing pressure has been put on businesses to disclose their gender pay gaps and redress the balance to aim for more equal pay.

The survey by SJD Accountancy saw more than a 1,000 contractors questioned, and data gathered on their salaries to create a better picture of which sectors are closing the gap and which are still struggling to find parity.