Men who work in the UK science and technology sector earn 24% more than women who work in the sector, according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). The survey found that for full- and part-time workers across all sectors, the gender pay gap is 18%, the lowest since the survey was launched in 1997, when the gap stood at 27.5%.The UK government will require all employers with more than 250 staff members to begin publishing their gender pay and bonus gaps from April 2017 in a bid to help women to overcome income barriers. In another effort to achieve parity, the government will coordinate with businesses to raise the number of women on executive boards to 33% by 2020. It has already extended the right to request flexible working, which could include flextime and teleworking, to all employees; introduced shared parental leave; offered support to female entrepreneurs for launching and growing a business; and increased the national living wage. Tackling the pay gap could add £150 billion ($US187 billion) to the nation's annual gross domestic product in 2025, according to estimates.