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Women have a ‘right to know’ what their male colleagues are earning so they can close the gender pay gap, says Labor’s Stella Creasy in introducing the Equal Pay Act
- Labor MP Stella Creasy introduced the equal pay bill in the House of Commons
- The legislation would allow women to request to see salary data if they suspect there is a disparity
- It has multi-party backing, but would need government support to be successful
Women in the workplace should have the ‘right to know’ what their male colleagues earn to challenge pay discrimination without having to go to labor court, said a Labor MP.
Introducing her equal pay bill (information and claims), Labor Rep. Stella Creasy said that many companies operate a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy when it comes to unequal wages, adding that greater pay transparency would help to close the gender pay gap.
The legislation is supported by all parties, with supporters such as the president of the Committee for Women and Equality, Caroline Nokes; Christine Jardine of the Liberal Democrats; Anne McLaughlin of the SNP and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas.
However, it is unlikely to pass through Parliament without government support.
Introducing her equal pay bill (information and claims), Labor Rep. Stella Creasy said many companies operate a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy when it comes to unequal wages.
Ms Creasy told Commons: ‘Pay discrimination becomes so prevalent because it is difficult to achieve pay transparency.
“Unless a woman knows that a man who does the same job as her is paid more, she cannot know if she is paid the same.
“And today, getting that information too often requires going to court because it is not available.”
She added: ‘It implements a right to know that would give women the right to request the salary data of their male counterparts.
“When they suspect that an individual or a group may constitute a comparator, they would have the right to know that information to be able to make the comparison without having to go to court.”
Ms. Creasy paid tribute to former Labor Minister Barbara Castle, who campaigned for the Equal Pay Act in 1970.
She said: ‘We must never forget to pay tribute to him.
‘Despite opposition from those, indeed, in the Labor government at the time to the equal pay amendments, she took a chance for other women and forced that bill.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that in the year to April 2019, the gender pay gap for full-time workers increased to 8.9 percent.
“But as a result, she was lost from the cabinet, prompting her to tell another sponsor of this bill and another legend when it comes to fighting for women’s rights, fellow Camberwell and Peckham (Harriet Harman).” remember that all Labor Prime Ministers are bastards. “
“I hope that’s not true and I certainly hope this Prime Minister doesn’t fall for that guy as well.”
The bill was submitted without a vote and a second reading was scheduled for November 13.
It has little chance of continuing to advance in its current form without government backing.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that in the year to April 2019, the gender pay gap for full-time workers increased to 8.9 percent.
However, for workers under 40, the gap for full-time employees was close to zero.
