Cleaning jobs have been traditionally undervalued

The task force is calling on government agencies to cut the pay gap in half within the next five years

It suggests that the long-term consequences of the pay gap will exacerbate poverty, social exclusion and inadequate pensions for women.

Morag Alexander, the director of the Equal Opportunities Commission in Scotland said sex discrimination and low paid jobs are two of the reasons for the inequalities.

She said: "There is sex discrimination in pay systems which is estimated to account for something like 25% of the gender pay gap.

"The other explanation is that women are concentrated in low-paid work which is shop assistants and in offices.

Lobby pressure

"Cleaning, caring roles, these are all fairly traditional jobs for women and they have been traditionally undervalued."

However, Scotland Office Minister George Foulkes claimed the government was making good progress on tackling the pay gulf.

Speaking in response to the report, Mr Foulkes said the pay gap between men and women had halved since the introduction of the equal pay act 30 years ago.

George Foulkes: Progress claims

He said: "Women are central to Scotland's economy and the government is determined to do everything possible to tackle the obstacles women can face in the workplace.

"We have recently issued new proposals to speed up and simplify equal pay cases in employment tribunals. The consultation period has just finished and the government is analysing the responses to decide on the best way forward."

Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland, said: "We want to see men and women's pay becoming more and more equal and agree with what this report is attempting to do by proposing a solution to the problem."

The report added that a UK-wide increase in performance related pay and specialised contracts has made it harder to monitor and compare pay levels.

The Equal Opportunities Commission is expected to use the findings to press the Westminster Government and Scottish Executive into renewed action to reduce inequalities in the workplace.