East Hampshire is the UK’s best-paying place for women to work in compared to men – and the only district in Hampshire where women are paid more than men.

Neighbouring Waverley also lays claim to the narrowest gap of all Surrey’s 11 boroughs.

The research, carried out by tax calculator income-tax.co.uk, used the latest data available from the Office for National Statistics to analyse the differences in median annual pay for male and female full-time workers in 321 districts and units across the UK.

It found females working full-time in East Hampshire, the area that inspired Jane Austen to pen some of her most well-known novels, earn an average £4,086 more than males – pocketing on average £32,173, a full 15 per cent more than the male average of £28,087.

It is the only place in Hampshire that pays women more than men.

At the opposite extremity of the gender pay gap is Gosport – by far the worst offender in Hampshire. If the average Gosport man earns £39,237 a year, women here get a third less, earning only £25,797.

Rural Hart district has the second largest gender pay gap in Hampshire, with women earning on average a third less than men – £31,339 compared to £45,998 .

The picture is no brighter in larger cities. For every £1 men in Southampton earn, women only get £0.81. Portsmouth, the county’s second biggest city, also pays women a fifth less than men. On average, women here earn nearly £7,000 less than men.

Employers in all Hampshire districts, except for East Hampshire, offer full-time male employees more than the UK average of £31,285. However, when it comes to their female counterparts, their salaries are reduced by £4.5k-15k.

In Surrey, Waverley ranks number 29 nationwide and first in Surrey to be closing in on the gender pay gap. Men working full time in Waverley earn £29,020 a year, whereas women’s salaries average to £28,008. That is 3.5 per cent less than men.

At the opposite extremity of the gender pay gap is Mole Valley – by far the worst offender in Surrey. For every £1 men in Mole Valley earn, women only get £0.59 – a steep 40.52 per cent cut. This makes Mole Valley the UK’s second worst place for women in terms of gender pay inequality.

Mole Valley salaries for men are far above the UK average, but women’s pays fall below this. If the average Mole Valley man earns £49,222 a year, women here are offered only £29,276.

Runnymede is the second worst district in the county for genderinequality. Women here earn £36,113 – almost a quarter less than men, who get £47,562 annually.

The picture is slightly better in other parts of Surrey. The district of Epsom and Ewell has a 10.47 per cent gender pay gap, where salaries for full-time male workers average to £30,186 and £27,036 for females.

Men in Reigate and Banstead have an annual median income of £34,930, whereas women get £30,668 per year. This represents a 12.20 per cent pay difference.

Due to partially missing ONS data, Woking and Tandridge statistics have been excluded from this study.

Employers across Surrey, except for Waverley and the district of Epsom and Ewell, offer full-time male employees more than the UK average of £31,285. However, when it comes to their female counterparts, their salaries are reduced by around £4k-20k and only rise above the national average in four districts.

The study was carried out by Income Tax UK, which enables users to calculate their net salary and find out how much tax and National Insurance they should pay to HMRC.

A spokesperson at income-tax.co.uk commented on the findings: “Our research suggests that some of the fairest employers are not necessarily the richest. Quite the opposite, in fact – districts across the country with high-paying jobs in general tend to pay women much less. Hampshire and Surrey are no exception.

“On the bright side, it is very fitting that women in East Hampshire, home to Jane Austen in her last eight prolific years, would earn nearly 15 per cent more than men – the biggest leap of all across the whole country.”

The study was carried out by Income Tax UK, which enables users to calculate their net salary and find out exactly how much tax and National Insurance they should pay to HMRC based on their income.