The Great Debate UK

Battle over wages: the male-female wage gap

- Alison Steed is the editor of the personal finance website for women and families MyMoneyDiva.com. The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters will host a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. -

Women have often been given a bad deal when it comes to work, whether we like it or not.

That, to me, is encapsulated in the fact that despite there being an Equal Pay Act in place in the UK since 1970, women still earn on average 17 percent less per hour than men for doing the equivalent role in the workplace, according to figures from The Fawcett Society.

Let’s not get confused here. This is not about women working part-time when men are working full time. This is the average gap for men and women working full time.

Politicians need to get a grip on what matters

-Alison Steed is editor and co-founder of the personal finance website for women MyMoneyDiva.com. The opinions expressed are her own.-

The battle lines are already being drawn in this election year. Although none of us knows for sure when the election will be, there are signs that “May” is going to be a significant month.