The difference in pay between men and women has fallen to a record low amount, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced according to their latest figures.

The gender pay gap in April stood at 9.4% which was down from 10% the previous year. This figure was at 17.4% in 1997 when ONS began it’s records.

When commenting on the figures, the Liberal Democrat minister for equalities Jo Swinson said, “It’s good news to see a significant reduction in the pay gap over the last year. We should value the contribution of women and men in the workplace equally, so our vision has to be eliminating the pay gap completely.

“The Government will continue to tackle the causes of gender pay inequality. Shared Parental Leave will help to tackle the unequal split of caring responsibilities, and we are promoting pay transparency by making free analysis software available to employers.”

The Liberal Democrats have been leading the campaign on the issue of the gender pay gap. The party’s manifesto states a commitment to introduce a legal requirement which would see companies which employ more than 250 people having to publish the average pay of their male and female workers.