Yesterday was Equal Pay Day. The day that marks the point at which women earn nothing for the rest of the year if their wages are compared to those of their male counterparts. So from now until 31st December, essentially, us women are working for free.
That’s some gender pay gap.
The Equal Pay Act was passed 46 years ago, and yet this year, recent figures from charity the Fawcett Society indicate women still earn 18% less than men. To highlight this issue, a number of women decided to down tools at work yesterday, and leave their offices 18% early – at 3.34pm. A number of celebrities supported this idea, and one such A-lister was Bond girl Gemma Arterton.
Taking to both her Twitter and Instagram accounts, the actress posted this message to her followers:
‘Today is Equal Pay Day. Women in the U.K. are still paid on average 18.1% less than men. Not good enough! If you work a 9-5pm job, from 3.34pm you are effectively working for free. #equalpayday2016’
Fairly inoffensive you might think. Many, however, didn’t agree...
The backlash Gemma received from both Twitter and Instagram trolls in the wake of posting the messages was nothing short of extraordinary. ‘What you posted is bull fXXking sXXt' said one commentator. 'The gender wage gap is a myth Gemma, don't be so gullible and stupid,' said another.
Now, anyone standing up for women's rights should expect to come up against some level of misogynism, because if recent current affairs are anything to go by it seems saying nasty things about women is now acceptable (yes, you’re the example I’m thinking of, Mr President Elect Trump). So sadly, no, these comments weren't particularly shocking to me.
The ones that were, however, were these: 'I could but then I'd be fired by my boss’, ‘If I wanna get fired I'll leave early'. Why were they so noteworthy? Because they precisely proved the point of the campaign. Women fear that in raising the issue that they’re not being paid the same as their male colleagues, their voices won’t be heard and furthermore, they’ll be sacked. Surely this is partially responsible for keeping the gender pay gap in place – we’re just too frightened to say anything about it, or, when the opportunity arises, to vote with our feet.
I’m a freelancer, so it’s easy for me to preach about what women should have done yesterday – stomped out of their offices in protest, no matter the consequences. Would I have done the same if I worked in an environment that didn’t acknowledge the day? In all honesty, probably not. And that’s because I too, am afraid. In fact, that’s partly why I’m writing this piece – to out myself as someone too frightened to start the conversation, in the hope I’ll embolden myself to be a bit braver next time it arises.
Of course, I understand that expecting the entire UK female workforce to have upped sticks mid-afternoon wasn’t practical. I’m aware of the devastating impact it could have had on the people who, for instance, owed the lives to female medical workers, female law enforcers and the like yesterday. To those doing such work, who decided saving lives – doing their job – was more important than making a point about their salaries, know that I salute you, whole-heartedly.
But this was why it was up to us who weren’t doing lifesaving work – and could feasibly have left our desks without doing any damage other than to piss off our bosses – to have done so, and done it super loudly too, on behalf of those unable to join in.
I think it would be useful to quote here a very powerful point Hillary Clinton made in her concession speech on Wednesday:
‘I’ve had successes and I’ve had setbacks. Sometimes really painful ones…
‘This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.
‘It is – it is worth it.’
Fighting for equal pay IS right. And when we finally get it, it will be worth it. Because when it comes to being properly remunerated for a job we’ve been hired to do, just like our male colleagues are worth every penny, we’re worth every penny too.
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