Why should women be paid less than men for the same job?

Today, I am bringing a Ten Minute Rule Bill on Equal Pay to Parliament. The Bill asks for implementation of Section 78 of the 2010 Equalities Act, which would place a duty on companies with over 250 employees to publish their figures on the pay gap between the men and women working for them. It has been almost 50 years since the women of T&G Ford Dagenham went on strike for equal pay and almost 45 years since the equal pay act was introduced. It should be the case that for many years, women have received the same pay as men, but sadly and quite shockingly, it isn't.

Today's motion to Parliament would rectify a section of the Equalities Act that has so far been inactive. Section 78 requires large companies to publish figures on the gender pay gap, but it is currently enforced solely through a voluntary mechanism. Since the implementation of the Act, only five companies have opted in to this voluntary arrangement. Five. That isn't even 0.1 per cent of the total number of large businesses in the UK.

To read more on this click here