CAMPAIGNER Catherine Williams believes more needs to be done after recent figures show a massive difference in pensions for young men and women.

This follows as the joint co-ordinator of Barrow and District Women Against State Pension Injustice reacted to figures released by Scottish Widows.

The pensions company says the average woman in her 20s could find £100,000 less in her pension pot than a man of the same age.

They say this is due to women earning less money, working part-time jobs and taking time out of work to care for family relatives.

Although Mrs Williams is pleased that steps have been taken to tackle gender inequality, she believes the disparity in pensions will remain for a while.

She said: “Women have historically been behind in pay rises and the best-paid jobs.

“Even in my lifetime there has been a lot of gender problems in terms of promotion and pay.

“I was a nurse all my career and at one point there were only 10 per cent of male nurses, but the 10 per cent of top nursing jobs were held by men. I know gender equality has been at the forefront for the last few years, but there is so much catching up to do. It is going to be a long time for women to get equality in that sense, there are a lot of wrongs to be put right and that means pensions are going to be behind for a long time.”

Scottish Widows says a female worker would usually save £2,200 for the first 15 years of her career compared to £3,300 for a man.

These contributions are explained by lower earnings. The median salary for a 25-year-old man is currently at £26,100, whereas it is £23,700 for a woman of the same age.

Additionally, only 46 per cent of women are saving the recommended 12 per cent minimum of their income, compared to 56 per cent of men.

However, the challenge of attaining a parity in pensions has been toughened by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mrs Williams admitted.

She commented: “Women are more likely to have a part-time job to help with childcare as well. Part-time jobs have been lost during the pandemic, with shops and restaurants closing down.

“Waitresses, barmaids and shop keepers have seen job losses.

“There are obviously men who do these jobs too, but the majority are held by women.”