On June 7, 1968 850 women machinists at the Ford factory in Dagenham went on strike for equal pay. The women's action paved the way for the Equal Pay Act two years later. Forty years on, the Equality and Human Rights Commission commemorates the strike and recognises that the pay gap is still a problem today.
Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said:
‘The Ford sewing machinists paved the way for equal pay legislation that brought welcome change for thousands of women. Forty years ago, job advertisements regularly featured different rates for men and women. This is now unthinkable. The women remain an inspiration to us today and we need to retain that spirit.
‘Forty years on, the pay gap remains a stubborn 17 percent. At the current rate, it will take at least another two decades to close it. Women who work full time will earn on average £330,000 less than a man over her working life. That's the price of a family home. It's amazing we still think this is something that a decent society can live with.
‘So what lessons have we learnt from the Ford machinists? First, we need to attack the secrecy over pay, so woman aren't forced to take legal action just to find out if they're being treated fairly. Second, we need to get the creaking tribunal system working again so that women can get some justice right now, instead of having to wait decades’.
Trevor’s comments appeared in the Observer last Sunday, in an article about the anniversary and equal pay.
The Commission has previously addressed the issue of equal pay, you can read the Commision's statement when the latest equal pay figures were released by the Office for National Statistics. We also recently issued a press release about the equal pay crisis in local government.
Video clip
The TUC commissioned a film documenting the Ford sewing machinist's fight for equal pay, you can view the clip here. The clip is taken from the Winning equal pay website which contains reference material on equal pay past and present.
A personal account
The Commission’s Head of Equal Pay Policy, Sheila Wild, has worked on this subject for more than a quarter of a century. Sheila has written an essay about her experience of working to close the pay gap, you can read the essay here.
Photograph showing Sheila Wild, with some of the ladies who won landmark equal pay cases over the last 40 years, including the Ford sewing machinists.
Equal pay posters past and present
These archive images demonstrate that although styles come and go, the issue is still the same – equal pay was a problem in 1968 and is still a problem in 2008.
