'˜Painstaking' progress on equal pay '˜unacceptable'

Today, party members took to social media to mark Equal Pay Day – an event designed to highlight the number of days women go “unpaid” for working equivalent jobs to men.

MPs flooded Twitter with campaign messages, calling for “equal value for equal work”.

They were led by shadow equalities minister Sarah Champion, who told the Yorkshire Post it was “unacceptable” that progress was moving so slowly.

“Despite a painstakingly slow narrowing of the gender pay gap over the last year, Equal Pay Day falls just one day after last year’s,” she said.

“At the current rate, women could be waiting over 50 years to have parity in their pay with men.

“Too often the work undertaken by women is low paid, undervalued, with limited progression and training opportunities.

“Several key sectors with a predominantly female work force continue to be subject to chronic low pay and poor working conditions.

“Labour are committed to closing the gender pay-gap once and for all, and to ensuring that all women know their work is valued equally to that of men’s.”

According to the Fawcett Society, the current wage gap between men and women is 13.9%.

Reasons cited for this include discrimination, unequal caring responsibilities and the undervaluing of traditionally female-dominated sectors.

The Government recently announced a series of measures to tackle pay inequality, including requiring employers to publish thier gender pay data.