Margot James calls for an end to unequal pay
30th October 2009
Margot James is backing a call for equal pay for all after a nationwide survey revealed women in Dudley are paid an average 15 per cent lower than their male counterparts.
To coincide with Equal Pay Day (Friday, October 30), figures released by the gender equality group the Fawcett Society reveal that pay inequality between genders varies in different parts of the UK with Dudley being below the national average of 17.1%.
Fawcett's dedicated national awareness day highlights that effectively this is equivalent to men being paid all year round while women work for free after 30th October.
The survey of 1,000 adults showed widespread support for new laws requiring employers to conduct mandatory pay audits and to take action if differences in rates for men and women were revealed.
Margot James believes audits for companies proven to have breached discrimination laws could be helpful.
She said: "Whenever an employer is found guilty of sex discrimination or paying women less than men they should be made to disclose what they pay their employees.
"Forty years since Equal Pay Act women are still being paid less than men and it is time to bridge this gap".
The highest UK gender pay gap is in West Somerset, where women are paid on average 52% less than men; this compares with the lowest discrepancy of 1.5% in parts of London.
The poll also revealed that half of men and a third of women were unaware of the average 17% gender pay gap for full-time workers.
She added: "I urge local people to add their voices by signing a petition to the Government at
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/equalpaynow."
