Thought for today: The answer to the pay gap - test-tube hermaphrodites

Another energy giant, Scottish Power, had a gender pay gap of 21.9%, with women being paid less than men.

These numbers show a slightly mixed picture at Vice with its mean number slightly higher than the national average of 17.4% but its median figure lower than the 18.4% average.

Companies had to file data based on a "snapshot" of their payroll taken on 5 April 2017.

Vice management said that it wanted to share the figures with staff in order to remain "committed to being open and transparent".

HSBC, Europe's largest bank, has reported the largest difference in male and female staff salaries among large organisations in Britain, as the government looks to pressure big companies to reduce gender pay disparities.

More than 10,000 companies submitted data, with more than 15% doing so between 4pm Tuesday and the deadline at the end of Wednesday.

A public database of what employers pay workers in the United Kingdom highlights a significant gap in what U.K. game companies pay men and women, a gap that is especially pronounced at Grand Theft Auto dev Rockstar North.

Meanwhile, Dundee-based investment firm Alliance Trust had a -19% pay gap, Scottish Widows -16.5% and Edinburgh-based Tesco Personal Finance was -14.6%.

Companies which failed face legal action and there was a last-minute dash to meet the deadline.

She said: "We believe, as we are now seeing in the United Kingdom, that by shining the spotlight on any gender based pay discrepancies, companies can address and remedy such inequalities where they exist".

In the top ten with the worst gender pay gap is Ryanair and the holding company for Millwall FC.

Creasy told The Guardian: "Women are already telling us that they are being told not to ask hard questions about this for fear of affecting their careers and we want to be clear that trying to silence employees isn't the right response".

A spokesman for the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that a "greater understanding of (the gender pay gap's) determinants are needed". "As ever, however, the statistics are limited and need to be interpreted with care".