Ipswich has the second biggest gender pay divide across the UK, a new study has suggested.

Jobs site Adzuna ran the study to explore the effect of the pandemic on the gender pay gap, discovering that towns and cities in the South East are presenting the biggest divides.

Aberdeen has the biggest pay gap between men and women at 46%, according to a study by jobs site Adzuna.

Ipswich was named second, followed by Maidstone, Slough, Milton Keynes, Oxford, and Portsmouth.

In a statement on behalf of the board of Suffolk Business Women, operated by Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, Jules Shorrock, Dayle Bayliss and Emma Ratzer said: "When looking at these types of reports it's important to consider the wider economic influence, such as the business types.

"Ipswich has a high amount of insurance and finance business and these may be influencing the figures.

"Whilst there is still some way to go across the whole region, great steps have been made to reduce this difference.

"With partnership and collaborations between organisations such as Suffolk Chamber, colleges, University of Suffolk and the LEP we are starting to see the impact of investment and initiatives around raising awareness, upskilling and flexible working to lessen these gaps.

"But this study highlights the work that is still needed and why the Levelling Up and Net Zero agenda investment is needed to in Suffolk to address issues such as this."

Paul Lewis of Adzuna said: "The pandemic has widened gender pay gaps in cities up and down the UK, but there can be no excuse.

"Gender pay gaps nearing 50% in the most sexist cities are indefensible and steps need to be taken to even out equality in these areas.

"That means taking a hard look at the hurdles facing women in the workplace and making efforts to remove them, be that through providing support to those juggling caring responsibilities, offering more flexible working options, or improving the recruitment and retention of women.

"Beyond this, there also needs to be a push to help women take advantage of high growth, high pay sectors like tech and logistics that have proved resilient over the last two years and are home to many of the new job opportunities being created."