Today Grazia’s going to Parliament to rally for equal pay, with MP Sarah Champion proposing to enforce Section 78 of the Equal Pay (Transparency) Bill – and we’ll be there with them.
From the scores of Twitterati tweeting the #equalpay hashtag over the last couple of weeks, to Gemma Arterton voicing her support and joining Grazia at Parliament for the live results, it’s been building for months and now it’s time to hear the final result. Will the government make moves towards closing the gender pay gap? We hope so.
Section 78 of the Equal Pay (Transparency) Bill would see companies with over 250 employees forced to publish the details of the pay gap between men and women. With the added transparency will come greater fairness, as those companies fleecing women will be held accountable and, you’d think, would then take action – because their female employees would be able to see quite easily whether they’re getting the same pay as their male counterparts, and understandably start asking for pay rises.
And who would be able to refuse them on the grounds that they’re female?
Our pals at Grazia have been lobbying for this change, getting readers to email their MP asking them to support the cause, which will be decided in a Ten Minute Rule motion today:
Dear: [INSERT MP’S NAME]
On December 16th, there will be a debate in Parliament, calling for the implementation of Section 78 of the Equality Act – requiring businesses with 250 employees or more to publish anonymised details annually about the hourly pay of men and women they employ. This transparency would help end the gender pay divide.
As my MP, I’m writing to ask you to support it. Nearly 10,000 Grazia readers have already signed a petition asking for Section 78 to be implemented, so we can shine a light on salary inequality and take action to tackle it.
Please can you let me know which way you will be voting when it is debated in Parliament?
Fingers crossed that the pressure has been enough to create some sort of change in Westminster. While ONS statistics revealed a decrease in the gender pay gap at the beginning of last month, it still exists and it’s still worrying: men are paid nearly 20 per cent more than women across the board, and when you factor in part-time work among twentysomethings, the gap has actually doubled.
Follow the #equalpay hashtag on Twitter for live updates of how it’s going over in Parliament, and to see how the Equal Pay rally progresses – let’s hope it’s for the better!
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.