Woman's Hour

It’s fifty years since the Equal Pay Act became law, though employers were given a couple of years to prepare for the change to take effect. The legislation followed the strike of a group of women machinists at the Ford factory in Dagenham who wanted to be paid just as a man would for doing skilled work. It set out that an individual can claim equal pay for work of equal value. However, it’s proved tricky over the years for women to find out what their male comparators were earning. It’s also proved tricky for women without financial and legal support to use the law. However, cases have been brought over the years and as the law has been strengthened. Last year, Glasgow City Council agreed to pay out a reported £548 million in compensation to thousands of women who were paid less than men working in jobs on the same grade. Jane is joined by Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC and by Jane Hannon, Employment partner at the law firm DLA Piper Health visiting is one of those professions that most people