Women working low-paid jobs are nearly 50% more likely to become “stuck” than men, according to the latest research by HR group the CIPD.

The CIPD says women were 47% more likely than men to stay in the low-pay bracket for 10 years. It defines low-pay as up to 20% above the minimum wage.

It also suggests the proportion of people in this group is rising. In the late 1990s, 15% of employees took home smaller wages compared with 24% in 2011, it said.

The majority of people in low-paid jobs are women, although the ratio has improved from 70% at the start of the research period to 64% today.

Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD says: “Over most of the last six years we have seen a significant fall in real wages, with evidence showing that the UK has a high proportion of workers employed in low wage roles compared with our international competitors.”

Mr Cheese said ministers should focus on growing the number of higher-skilled jobs across the economy. He also said businesses should aim to improve their skills base and career advice should be improved to give candidates better options.