Why is there still NO pay equality in the UK after all these years?

What was the quote? something like "We are all equal, but some are more equal than others".

Its not very fair is it. I think we will always like in a male dominated society. Things have got alot better though, so there is still hope that it will improve further.

I wouldn't say there's NO pay equality in public sector as its very much grade-based and therefore not really at the discretion of a male-orientated director for example.

I do think there's still a big problem in the private sector (and definitely suffered in a previous job for being female in a company with a male-dominated management team) and not sure what can be done to change it.

There are more and more successful woman making it to Board level, so hopefully it will not affect most of us and the public sector might rub off a bit more.

It's certainly very disappointing to find that 40 years after the legislation was changed women are still lag so far behind men in terms of pay in so many areas. Companies get away with this by giving jobs mainly done by women a different name and level of pay although the legislation was supposed to stop this from happening. I suppose that the fact that women have career breaks to bring up children is held against them even if they return to work with good qualifications and often updated ones.

I agree that there is equality in the public sector and there has been for some time. I earn the exact amount that my male counterparts do. However, it probably is a lot different in the private sector and if a male and female are doing exactly the same role then each should receive the same pay. I would like to think that some private sector companies do adhere to this principal but I am sure that there a lot that don't.

Pay equality is practiced in the public sector where it can be controlled with vigor however in the private sector its a different matter. It is morally wrong but very often some jobs are totally unsuitable for female employees.

To answer your question first. There is no pay equality because the current legislation can only do so much. For example within the civil service they spent a lot of time and effort changing the way people were promoted so they had to complete application forms about what they could bring to the job and what they had already achieved. Great, lovely equal footing. Then just to make sure that the old boy's network still worked well and they could still pick out the people they had already decided they wanted for the job, each written application had to have the name of the applicant when it was reviewed by the panel. Now it seems to me that if the written application system was to be completely unbiased the name on the application was not of any relevance. So when it came to the interviews the three candidates had come through a system where the name on the form had been considered.

We all know the tales about people applying for jobs using different names and getting different results.

Equal pay is not the same as having equal opportunities. If there was equality of opportunity there would not be the wide gap between the proportions of men and women in the top jobs. The glass ceiling is still there in the public sector just as it is in the private sector. There are still cases in the public sector where the sexes are graded equally but the men are getting better bonuses and overtime opportunities.

There was a percentage drop in top women civil servants from 2005-6 to 2007-8 and even in 2005-06 we are still only talking 32% women in the top jobs. With a long hours culture one of the top civil servants had to go part-time (20 hours per week) in order to work only 37 hours a week. She was effectively doing a massive 17 hours a week unpaid in order to work a normal working week.

Getting off hobby horse now, I still get stiff when riding it:-)

Although you are not allowed to discuss your salary with colleagues most men do discuss this with other men, but rarely with women? I expect women also discuss pay amongst themselves. Without this knowledge most women don't know they are being paid less than men until these reports from the AFP are issued.

Because women cannot do the long hours many men in offices work because often they have child care issues. No long hours, no promotion so women end up doing the lower paid work. In order to attract men into businesses they either pay them a higher starting salary or promote them very quickly.

It is unfair but it's also unfair where employees (male or female) get paid differently just because one person started after another. This may not make sense but I have worked for a company where new employees have to be paid the market rate otherwise they would not accept the position where existing employees would ask for a pay rise based on fair market rates but would be declined. Is it fair that someone with good experience earns less just because they have been there longer? Not really, it should be the other way round.

Sorry, slightly off topic, I agree it's unfair but it is better than it used to be and there are lots of other things that are unfair as well.

they say its because women take time out to have children, which women do make that decision, i do wish women could have both easily but it seems to be really difficult/impossible. we need more men to take time out of work to raise their children! of course some of it is indirect sexism!

women dont golf or chat in pubs as often as most men!

It is always a difficult subject to approach, I will start by saying if a man and woman are doing the same job, in the same way, and achieving the same results they should be paid the same.

If a women is not able to commit to a job in a way is required (due to child care responsibilities) them she shouldn't be offered the position, if she is capable willing and able to do the job and brings a similar level of experience and skill there is absolutely no reason for pay differences between men or women, age or length of time with company, should occur.

I can see how if childless women and men are able to dedicate significant overtime resulting in significant better results for their company they should be rewarded for this, after all having children is a choice and you choose to have a family and lesson you commitment to your work.