OK so for all of my female artists, friends and family I think all of you can probably relate to this one. The 10th of November marks probably one of the most shocking days of the year, in the sense from this day on wards women theoretically work for free.. or to put it another way, men stop working on that day and for the rest of the year still earn the same amount as women. Neither way of saying it makes it much easier to digest. There is a lot going on in the world, and sometimes I think we get caught up and forget about the injustices that happen everyday, of every year.. for example the 24% gap!! in wages between women and men for the same job title. I did recently a little series about these statistics, but its still bothering me? So I thought id do a few more. Also its amazing how many people are completely unaware of any of this! (women/men my age, 21.) So its great to be a gender gap town crier.. ! someone needs to bang on about it till men begin to think that maybe its not okay.
“Today is Equal Pay Day – we mark this day at the point Britain’s gender pay gap will leave women effectively working for free until the end of the year.
Because of the gender pay gap, men could go unpaid from now until the end of the year and still earn the same as a woman working the whole year.
The Equal Pay Act, passed 46 years ago, made it illegal to value a woman’s work less than a man’s for the same role. However, the gender pay gap persists and last year we marked this day on 9th November, meaning we have only progressed by one day.
The Labour Party will not tolerate such slow progress. At this rate it will be another 51 years until we have pay equality.
The Labour Party, when we form the next government, will tackle the gender pay gap. We will introduce a Real Living Wage which will disproportionately benefit women who are all too often working in jobs that are under-valued.
It currently costs women £1,200 to take an equal pay claim to an employment tribunal thanks to Tory tribunal fees. Labour would scrap tribunal fees and strengthen trade union rights to help stamp out pay discrimination.
I have also committed to establishing a high level, strategic Women’s Advisory Board supporting the work of the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, Sarah Champion MP, and I will be working directly with Sarah to ensure gender equality is at the heart of all our policies.
The Labour Party passed the Equal Pay Act and it is the Labour Party that will make sure we finally bring about pay equality between men and women.” – Published by the Labour Party.
I think when you read the statistics and dates as to when experts estimate equality may be achieved, it really sinks in! I felt quite fed up when I made this piece and just annoyed, also annoyed that some women aren’t phased by it? I still think its quite a funny little illustration though, with my new fabric man featuring, as if he is saying it. Equal pay for everyone!
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