The Equality and Human Rights Commission is urging the government to introduce pay band league tables in an effort to close the gender pay gap.

Lady Prosser, deputy chair of the organisation, said such a measure would provide a clearer picture of which companies are "lagging behind" on equality.

"That's not a good image to have and those firms will just have to do something about it if they don't want to be embarrassed," she remarked.

The proposal is included in an amendment to the equality bill. It would force companies to publish details of the pay bands their male and female employees fall into.

It was drawn up by the government's equalities office after official figures revealed that male workers are paid on average 17.1% more than female employees with the same skills and qualifications.

But business leaders have opposed the plans, insisting they would add unnecessary red tape and would do nothing to tackle the underlying problem of inequality.

According to a report by executive job website Experteer, the gender pay gap is wider at executive level, standing at 19%.