Equal Pay: What Do You Say?

Let me throw some stats your way.

In Wales the hourly median gender pay gap for full time workers is 14.3%. That is, women earn 14.3% less than men.
Men hold nearly two thirds of all full time employment though so a more meaningful comparison is the median hourly rate of full time men vs part time women - which gives us a gender pay gap of 38%.

The pay gap has narrowed slightly for full time women workers but not for part time workers.

I went around Cardiff with a video camera today doing vox pops, asking people for their views on equal pay. Most people say that men and women doing the same jobs should be paid the same. But it is a lot more complicated than that.

Why do more women work part time? Why do women tend to do certain types of jobs, and men other types of jobs? Why do women usually take on most of the childcare? Why aren't employers offering better flexible working opportunities, or better quality part time jobs or job shares at higher grades? Why does society think that women should be homemakers and thus not allowing women or men a real choice about how they want to raise their families?

I saw this shot and it summed up how I was feeling earlier. A bit rough. A bit like my rights and other women's rights are just being sold off. And we are all left standing there, if we even notice it at all.