Marvin OnumonuCiphr analysed Office for National Statistics (ONS) data and found over half (55%) of large towns and cities had a gender pay gap of 7% or more favouring men.
Most towns and cities (88%) had a gender pay gap.
Bracknell in Berkshire had the biggest gap at 26.5%.
Women working there earned 73p for every £1 men made, a difference of £14,065 a year.
Farnborough followed with a 25.2% gap and a £12,257 difference.
Portsmouth had a gap of 22.1%, or £11,120 a year.
Stockport, Tynemouth, Telford, Crawley and Derby all had gaps close to 19%.
Ciphr found thousands of women in towns and cities across the UK, including London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Bristol, were paid less per hour than men on average.
The UK’s average gender pay gap was 6.9%, lower than many towns.
Pay gaps were smallest in Wolverhampton (-0.1%), Newport (-0.7%), Lincoln (0.8%) and South Shields (0.8%), but salaries were well below UK averages.
Where pay gaps favoured women, such as Maidstone, Blackpool, Darlington, Paignton, Rochdale and Margate, both men’s and women’s salaries were below national averages.
London (£45,530), Reading (£42,991) and Cambridge (£42,527) had the highest wages for women, but still showed pay gaps of 10.7%, 16.8% and 5% respectively.
Additionally, Ciphr found men out-earned women in nearly every industry (95%).
Claire Hawes, chief people and operations officer at Ciphr, said: “These findings are just another reminder that the gender pay gap isn’t just a national statistic.
“It’s a very real, local issue affecting women’s livelihoods in communities across the UK.
“That so many industries and job roles have a gender pay gap is incredibly disappointing and is an important flag for employers.”
Hawes added: “It highlights that organisations must continue to critically evaluate their own gender pay gap and focus their efforts on what they can do within their own business to reduce embedded salary discrepancies, and ensure people are fairly rewarded for the value they bring.
“The onus is on all employers to be part of the solution, not part of this problem.
“Behind every percentage point in these figures is a real woman, taking home significantly less than her male colleague.
“These aren’t just stats – these are real people and real inequalities.”
Ann Allcock, head of diversity at Ciphr, said: “A key driver is likely to be the type, size and concentration of the industries present, and the number of workers they employ.
“Gaps are usually larger among higher-paying businesses, those with clearly delineated gender roles (such as more men working in construction and STEM occupations), or those with a high proportion of consistently undervalued roles.
“The latter are predominantly occupied by women (the 5 C’s of Caring, Cleaning, Catering, Cashiering and Clerical work), and where there’s a gender imbalance in a role’s workforce it can lead to lower-paid wages.”
Allcock added: “Another important factor influencing pay gaps across towns and cities is the lack of access to affordable childcare, which translates into the ‘Motherhood Penalty’.
“Towns with limited and/or high childcare costs often see a larger pay gap in favour of men, as women are more likely to reduce working hours or move to lower-paid, more flexible but lower-skilled, jobs after having children.
“Local or regional cultural norms that support traditional gender roles and tend to view women as secondary earners can also drive up pay gaps in favour of men, as these impact women’s career progression and promotion opportunities, and salary levels.”
She said: “Over three-quarters (78%) of all occupations in the UK have gender pay gaps, which means many women are earning less than men in the same occupations.
“Tackling the gender pay gap should be a business priority for all employers – no matter where they are based in the UK.”
