50 Years since Equal Pay Act - report from UNISON General Secretary - Christina McAnea

05/03/2025

Happy International Women’s Day for 8 March.

Fifty years ago, in 1975, the Equal Pay Act (1970) came into force in the UK, and the Sex Discrimination Act was also passed the same year.

Seven years earlier, a determined group of women had laid the foundations for the landmark Equal Pay Act. In 1968, 187 female sewing machinists at the Ford factory in Dagenham went on strike. They refused to work because they were being paid 15% less than their male colleagues, despite carrying out the same tasks.

The then Labour employment minister, Barbara Castle, helped the Dagenham sewing machinists to negotiate a settlement. She also promised to deliver legislation, “to make equal pay for equal work a reality”. So, in 1975, for the first time, employers were legally required to pay women and men equal pay for equal work.

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women through the ages, particularly those who have fought for equal rights, fair pay and safer workplaces, as well as honouring today’s stand-out campaigners.

The Sex Discrimination Act time meant that women could take maternity leave and were legally protected from discrimination for being pregnant. They could own their own property and apply for a mortgage from lenders, who had previously only dealt with men.

There is so much progress to celebrate in the fight for women’s equality. But so much more to do. While the Equal Pay Act has ensured equal pay for work of equal value between men and women, pay is still far from equal.

I’m proud women’s issues and the voices of our women members are at the forefront of our union.

We’re pushing Labour to tackle not just the gender pay gap, but the disability and ethnicity pay gaps as well.

It’s UNISON that has encouraged Labour to bring in collective bargaining for school support staff and a fair pay agreement for care workers. And I’m determined to make sure these negotiations are led by the women who work in schools and in care homes.

When the Employment Rights Bill becomes law later this year, it will have a positive impact on members everywhere – especially women. It will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, put a stop to indiscriminate firing and rehiring, and introduce rights from day one, including better maternity leave and benefits, as well as parental and carer’s leave.

But it won’t all be plain sailing. As I said at our national women’s conference just a few weeks ago, Labour got off to a very bumpy start. Particularly, the scrapping of the winter fuel allowance, and the announcement that WASPI women won’t be compensated for their pension losses. Both decisions were shocking and unnecessary.

As a union with a million women members, we have a responsibility to use our voice to speak up for change whenever and wherever we see discrimination or injustice, in the workplace and wider society. And that means continuing to speak up for women’s rights across the world.

It’s hard to shake the growing sense of dread over the global rollback of women’s rights. In the most extreme cases, such as in Afghanistan and Iran, women and girls are being systematically denied basic freedoms. The Taliban has barred them from schools, certain jobs, and public spaces, while Iran has intensified gender segregation and punishments for not wearing the hijab. In China, feminist voices are silenced, and Uyghur women face forced sterilizations.

It’s not just in these countries. Right-wing governments in the West are also undermining women’s rights and seeking to restore stereotypical gender roles. The headlines are full of Trump’s latest negative pronouncements and in some parts of Europe, laws protecting women from violence are being weakened, and access to abortion is being restricted.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by this global shift to the right, but despite the challenges, there are millions of brave women doing the difficult and dangerous work to fight back.

At UNISON, we also play a role in this global fight. This year, we celebrate supporting migrant women workers in Qatar for a decade. Initially it felt nearly impossible but today, as courageous leaders within their associations, they advocate for changes to Qatar’s labour laws, provide training and support women who have fled violent employers. In East Jerusalem and in the West Bank, we provide support to train activists to help Palestinian women access social protection and employment rights.

Most recently, our international committee approved seed funding to plan a ground-breaking project in the Philippines to organise women community health workers into trade unions, empowering them to advocate for their rights to be graded as paid workers rather than volunteers.

Instead of feeling helpless, I’m inspired by the power of UNISON, the UK’s largest women’s organisation. Together, we will not only prevent the rollback of women’s rights but continue to push for progress, standing in solidarity with women everywhere.