Hi Friend,

Equal Pay is about so much more than money. It is about valuing women.

Imagine if every woman went to work knowing that she was valued and paid equally to the man sitting next to her. Fifty years since the Equal Pay Act, our research shows that six in 10 women either don’t know what their male colleagues earn or know they are paid less than a man doing the same or a similar job. The law simply isn’t working for women. But together we can change that.

At Fawcett, we are campaigning to give women the #RightToKnow what a male colleague earns if they suspect they are being paid more for doing the same job. This would empower women to get the evidence they so vitally need to challenge pay discrimination and resolve their case with their employer without having to go to court or lose their job.

That’s why for our International Women’s Day Appeal this year we are asking you to stand in solidarity with women fighting for equal pay and donate to support our #RighttoKnow campaign.

Grunwick factory workers striking over pay and conditions outside the Trade Union Congress building in 1977.
Credit: TUC Library Collections. London Metropolitan University

We know from dozens of women using our Equal Pay Advice Service that pay discrimination is real. Kiran (not her real name), is a woman of colour who has experienced the devastating impact of pay discrimination.

Kiran worked as a senior accountant. For years she knew that she was being paid significantly less than her male colleagues, but all she had to go on was an overheard conversation. Although she raised it at her annual appraisals — with no evidence, she got nowhere.

After over a decade at the company (by which time she had been promoted but was still being paid less than men in junior roles), she summoned the courage to submit an official grievance. After weeks of anxiously waiting for a response, again she got nowhere. Her mental health deteriorated and, being a single mum of two, this impacted heavily on her children. “The strong formidable woman I used to be was broken,” she remembers.

Kiran decided not to take her case any further; the negative impact on her and her family was too great. But with the 'Right to Know,' it might have been a different story. This legal right could have saved her over a decade of financial stress and emotional turmoil.

In 2020 it is time to finally deliver equal pay for women. But we can’t do it without you. Please stand in solidarity with Kiran and donate to support our #RighttoKnow campaign today.