British women are fast becoming a high-risk group when it comes to pensions, with 53% having less than £10,000 in their pot, compared with 34% of men.
That is according to new research by financial services firm Drewberry, which also shows that 75% of UK women have under £50,000 in their pension, compared with 57% of their male counterparts.
In addition, it was found that 24% of all female workers in the UK earn less than £11,000 - almost three times the number of men - while 66% take home under 25,000, compared with 42% of males.
This comes after the BBC was criticised last week when a significant disparity in salaries between its male and female staff was revealed, sparking a national debate about the gender pay gap.
"Once again our survey has highlighted the worrying level of financial inequality between men and women that still persists in this country," Drewberry director, Tom Conner, said.
"A big concern is that with almost a quarter of employed women earning less than £11,000 a year, a great many will fall beneath the £10,000 a year earning ceiling for auto enrolment."
"A much higher percentage of women are currently forced to work part-time hours. This provides a partial explanation, but statistically, women also seem to be far less engaged with the topic of pensions than men."
The research also shows that, despite representing the majority of part-time workers, only 14% of UK women have a personal pension, compared with 24% of men.
It reveals that almost half of female workers in Britain report having £200 or less a month in discretionary income, that only 30% have more than £400 to spend, and just 6.5% have over £1,000.
Women were also found to be less optimistic about their future, with 52% expecting to be worse off than their parents in retirement, compared with 39% of men, while 14% don't think they will be able to afford to retire at all.
Conner suggested that young people should have a basic understanding of how a pension works before they leave school, after finding that the majority of both genders did not even know that pensions pay tax relief.
"Every working Briton needs to recognise that a pension is an essential piece of kit - it's not something that can be put off or 'managed without'," he continued.
"Unfortunately, more than 21% of employed women in this country still have no pension of any kind, and this must change."
