“Lack of action” by the government to break down gender stereotypes in schools is partly to blame for the failure to narrow the gap between men’s and women’s pay, according to an official report.

The Women and Work Commission, established to recommend ways to close the gender pay gap, said that women were still paid on average 22.6 per cent an hour less than men. That had fallen from 27.5 per cent 10 years ago, but progress was stalling and there had been a slight rise from 21.9 per cent in 2007.