Macho workplaces with Page 3 pin-ups are putting female prospective apprentices off industries where they could be earning a better wage, a report for the Trades Union Congress has said.

Apprenticeships - a gendered picture states that female apprentices are consistently paid less than men and are less likely to benefit from their studies with higher earnings later on in their careers.

Electrotechnical apprenticeships, where just 1 per cent are female, have average earnings of #163;210 a week, while business administration, with 81 per cent women, brings in 20 per cent less. Women were not paid the statutory minimum of #163;80 four times as often as men.

The report says: “Many workplaces are still macho environments with Page 3 girl pin-ups on the walls, sexual banter and sexual harassment still surprisingly rife.”