gender pay

Fifty years ago, 187 female machinists from Ford’s Dagenham factory took to the streets to protest against the 15% gap between their pay and that of male workers at the plant. The strike sparked a national movement. Less than a year later, 1,000 people marched on Trafalgar Square and by 1970 the Equal Pay Act had passed, requiring parity of pay for equal roles. And from that point on, all UK companies happily paid their female employees equally to men.

At least I wish that was the story Panorama: Britain’s Equal Pay Scandal (BBC1, 19 March, 7.30pm) could tell. As it stands, with an average 9.1% gender pay gap across the UK, women are still chronically underpaid and - 50 years after the Ford machinists won their fight - a new raft of female workers are claiming they’re entitled to more on their pay cheque to be on a par with male colleagues.

This time, those claims are lodged against the major supermarkets. Law firm Leigh Day is working on the largest-ever equal pay claim against a private sector company as 15,000 (predominantly female) Asda shop workers insist they should be paid the same hourly wage as (predominantly male) warehouse workers. The mult could face a bill of £100m. And similar claims could lie in wait for Tesco and Sainsbury’s, says the firm.

Grocery isn’t the only sector singled out here. But as one of the biggest employers of women - and one of the biggest employers full stop - UK food & drink needs to take a long, hard look at its payroll, or face a hefty penalty - both legally and in the court of public opinion.

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