The government has announced plans to address the gender pay gap during the state opening of Parliament, through measures contained in the Equality Bill.
Introduced during the Queen's Speech, the bill which is is designed to strengthen and consolidate nine existing anti-discrimination laws, increase transparency and help tackle the gender pay gap which stands at 21%.
It will require public bodies to report regularly on equality issues such as gender pay and ethnic minority and disability employment in their organisations.
It also includes measures for bans on age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities or services and on secrecy clauses, which prevent employees from discussing their own salary with colleagues.
John Cridland, director general of the CBI, said: “Progress has been made in reducing the gender pay gap, although there is still much to do to. But mandatory pay audits would be heavy-handed and add bureaucracy without tackling the core, underlying causes of gender inequality.
"Better careers advice is needed to help young women choose more financially-rewarding careers, and improved advice on parental rights and better state-funded childcare are also essential to promote gender equality in the workplace."