Women at Work
Introduction by
Maggie Hazlehurst
Regional Women's Organiser
Transport and General Workers Union
Almost half of the British workforce is now women. In the thirty years since the introduction of the Equal Pay Act there have been many advances for women in work and society as a whole, however on average a women who works full time earn 17% less than men.
Women workers tend to be concentrated into a narrow range of low paid occupations. Many work part time where the gender pay gap is stuck at 40%. There are many reasons for the pay gap:
- Blatant gender discrimination
- Job segregation
- Lack of opportunity
- Lack of choice in occupations
- Lack of choice in working time
We have come a long way in advancing women workers and have seen real improvements in legislation in the last few years, including:
- Introduction of the statutory minimum wage
- Far better maternity rights
- Paid paternity leave
- The right to request flexible working
- Protection for part time workers
- The introduction of parental leave
- The introduction of tax credits to assist people into work
- Extension of affordable childcare to all, including Surestart
However there are still major challenges ahead for working women. The trade union - half of whom are now women - strive to improve on the legal rights already won and to lobby and work to achieve more improvements to enable women to:
- have real working time choice
- have good affordable childcare
- improve on maternity and parental rights that can be taken without fear of discrimination r financial hardship
- ensure women retire with a decent pension and do not have to retire in poverty
- to eradicate the gender pay gap through compulsory equal pay reviews
- ensure women's health and safety issues are addressed in workplaces
- eradicate all forms of bullying, harassment, and discrimination against women
- promote equality representatives in workplaces to ensure gender equality is promoted and implemented
- ensure women have equal access to training, development and promotion
Women are growing in the UK labour market. We still have challenges ahead to ensure equality in the world of work is achieved that will lead to benefits in society as a whole.
The links in this section lead you to a wealth of information to help and assist working women to know your rights but more importantly links to trade Union sites that will empower women workers to help themselves and each other within the world of work.
Maggie Hazlehurst
Regional Women's Organiser
Transport and General Workers Union
To read more about Maggie's work follow the link below:
Transport & General Workers Union Equalities Unit
