PHOTO CALL
Leeds equal pay activists to lead local campaigning
When: 1.00pm, Tuesday 30 October
Where: Leeds City Square
Photo: A baby boy and girl will feature alongside representation of the amount of money that a female will miss out on during her working life due to the pay gap. A woman will be paid an average of £188,000 less than an equivalent male over her career.
Women in Yorkshire face a pay gap of 14%, slightly lower than the national average of 17%.
The Fawcett Society and Unison have declared Tuesday 30 October Women’s No Pay Day. Figures show the pay gap between women and men is equivalent to men getting paid all year and women only being paid until October 30 and working for nothing until the end of the year.
The photo will demonstrate how the pay gap will affect a new born female over her working life, based on the average salary of £23,600, this equates to women losing out on around £4,000 a year, and a total of £188,000 over her career.
Fawcett and UNISON are calling on the government to take clear steps to tackle the gender pay gap. They want greater transparency around pay, reforms to outdated pay laws and for women to be entitled to take group actions so the burden is not on individual women to speak out.
“Highlighting the shameful pay gap between men and women is essential and urgent action is needed if we are ever to improve the situation. I don’t want children like my daughter Esme to have to fight the same battle in 21 years time when she starts work,” said local equal pay campaigner Karen Bruce.
Katherine Rake, director of the Fawcett Society, said: “Every year women are being ripped off by the pay gap and at the current painfully slow rate of progress the pay gap will not be closed in our lifetimes. It’s high time for the government to take the strong action needed to stop women being ripped-off.’’
To arrange photos or interviews with local campaigners, contact Beth Kay at Wolfstar on 0113 394 7960 or Karen Bruce on 0113 282 5321
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