In 2013, UK women are still paid less than men – so much so that on Thursday 7th November the average full time female worker will effectively start working for free. The Fawcett Society has dubbed this day ‘Equal Pay Day’.
The average woman working full-time in the UK will be paid 15% less per hour than a man. If she is working part-time, she will be getting paid a whopping 35.6% less an hour. That means she started working for free on 27th August. Older women workers also fare badly.
Teaching has a predominantly female workforce and, compared to other industries where women workers are in the majority, women have achieved better pay parity. Women working in the public sector also have better pay parity than those working in the private sector, largely because of national pay structures and strong union representation.
This government’s policies are having a devastating effect on women and the ground we have won over the last 40 years. The impact of their neoliberal austerity measures and the increasing costs that all households have to carry, together with no pay rises and cuts to services, pushes more women into poverty. With the majority of single parents being women, it is essential that the campaign for equal pay is a fight we take up.