A deputy governor of the Bank of England has apologised for saying the UK economy was in a “menopausal” phase after passing its productive peak.

Ben Broadbent was accused of using “lazy, sexist” language when he compared the current state of the economy to the late Victorian era, when a pause between steam technology and the age of electricity contributed to a slump in productivity.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Broadbent said the term applied by economic historians to describe such a slump was “climacteric”, which he said essentially means “menopausal, but can apply to both genders. You’ve passed your productive peak.”

Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, said the language Broadbent used in his interview was “totally inappropriate”.

“There’s no need to resort to lazy, sexist comments to describe problems in the economy,” she said.

Broadbent issued a statement on Wednesday morning after his comments drew widespread criticism: “I’m sorry for my poor choice of language in an interview with the Telegraph yesterday and regret the offence caused.

“I was explaining the meaning of the word “climacteric”, a term used by economic historians to describe a period of low productivity growth during the 19th century. Economic productivity is something which affects every one of us, of all ages and genders.”

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the chief executive of Virgin Money UK, who led a government review on boosting gender equality in the financial sector, said: “When I read this I thought about my own menopause and was sure he meant that the future is hard work, challenging, renewing, worth fighting for, 100% positive and constantly HOT!”

Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, the business lobby group, said Broadbent’s comments in the interview detracted from the crucial issue of weak productivity and living standards.

“This poor choice of words is very disappointing and distracts from the real issue at hand,” she said. “Productivity has been the UK’s achilles heel for far too long.

“Our priority should be tackling the low productivity that can lead to higher regional inequality. Solving this will help build a stronger economy that raises living standards and wages for everyone.”

Vivienne Artz, president of Women in Banking & Finance, said: “Women aged 50 and over are the fastest-growing group of employees in the UK. Menopause is experienced by all women, and those in the menopause years constitute an estimated 20% of the workforce.

“To refer to menopause as being “past one’s productive peak” in the context of the economy ignores the reality that women are often at the peak of their careers during their menopause years.”

Robert Peston, the political editor of ITV, tweeted that Broadbent’s language was “sloppy and potentially offensive”.

Louise Newson, a GP and medical writer, said it was a “terrible analogy”, while another Twitter user, Rebecca Harvey, said it was a shocking example of #everydaysexism.

Broadbent, a former economist at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, is considered a potential successor to the Bank’s governor, Mark Carney. As deputy governor for monetary policy, he sits on the monetary policy committee, which is responsible for setting interest rates.

Carney has previously attributed a 25% gender pay gap at the Bank – with male employees paid almost a quarter more than their female colleagues – to the fact that men dominate the most senior positions at Threadneedle Street. Of the nine members on the MPC, just one – Silvana Tenreyro – is a woman.

Broadbent gave the interview after official figures showed that productivity fell 0.5% in the first three months of 2018, at a time when employment in Britain hit a fresh record high but growth slowed to just 0.1%.