Today, Emma Reynolds, Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East and Shadow Housing Minister, voted to support legislation on ‘pay transparency’ to make publication of the difference between men and women’s pay by big companies mandatory and tackle the causes of the continued pay gap once and for all.To coincide with the vote, the Labour Party released a new analysis of official figures which show that – because of the gender pay gap, women earn an average £209,976 less over their lifetime than men.

A rally, organised with Grazia magazine and the trade union Unite, was held in Westminster at the same time as the vote calling on MPs to support equal pay. Grazia has run a campaign, “Mind the pay gap” highlighting continuing disparities in pay between men and women. The rally was attended by Gwen Davis, Sheila Douglass and Vera Sime who were amongst the original Ford Dagenham workers to strike for equal pay and, stars from the hit musical ‘Made in Dagenham’ including Gemma Arterton and Isla Blair. The Ford workers’ strike led to the Equal Pay Act 1970 being introduced by Barbara Castle in Harold Wilson’s Labour Government.

The rally also heard from top employers PricewaterhouseCoopers and Genesis Housing, a leading housing association, on why they already publish their pay gap, two of just five companies to do so.

Emma said: “It is shocking and totally unacceptable that, almost 50 years after Ford workers in Dagenham went on strike for equal pay, women in Wolverhampton and across the country are losing out on hundreds of thousands of pounds because they are still paid less than men over their lifetime. Over a lifetime, men earn on average around £209,976 more than women, enough to buy a house.

“Grazia’s ‘Mind the pay gap’ campaign and the work of trade unions have helped to highlight how unacceptable these disparities are. That is why I voted today alongside other Labour MPs to make sure that all companies with over 250 employees publish their gender pay gap, the difference between what they pay men and women. The Tory-led government ditched this legislation in favour of a voluntary approach in 2010 that has not worked. Only five companies have agreed to publish their pay gaps.”

December 2014