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I am fortunate that I have a platform to discuss topical issues and for several years have supported the International Women ’ s Day campaign which takes place in March each year . My reason for supporting this campaign is to help raise awareness of the challenges women still face throughout the world . We have come a long way , especially in this country , but newborn girls are still set to face more obstacles in their lives than their male counterparts .
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the gender pay gap for all employees was 15.5 per cent at April 2020 , which means that on average women were paid approximately
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84p for every £ 1 men were paid . A wise woman I know framed this in a different way . The sex pay gap should be reported as a percentage of the women ’ s pay , not a percentage of men ’ s pay , as the current reporting minimises the gap and makes it seem like a female problem . So , working with the 2020 figures , if you expressed the men ’ s pay as a percentage of the women ’ s , it demonstrates that men earnt 18.3 per cent more than us . Is that fair ? Do men work 18.3 per cent harder ? Research already being carried out into the pandemic suggests that women have been more negatively affected in terms of stress both at home and at work , in terms of job |
losses and also in terms of being able to look for a new job .
We ran a similar feature on this subject in our February / March magazine for Swindon & Wiltshire and I received an email from a reader asking , “ what about International Men ’ s Day ?”. The truth is International Women ’ s Day exists because there is a gender imbalance in society , when women are equal in business there will be no need for such a day . There is actually an International Men ’ s Day in November each year but very few men get behind it for it to be well-known .
At The Business Exchange we ’ re all about encouraging equality . It ’ s not about
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‘ girl power ’ it ’ s about parity and until we achieve it , this subject will always be close to my heart … even if it does make my dad roll his eyes …
To celebrate International Women ’ s Day this year we ’ re running a campaign online for one week , on the run up to the day , Monday 8th March until Friday 12th March . Visit The Business Exchange websites every day to hear from local women in our community and what they # ChooseToChallenge - the theme of this year ’ s worldwide campaign .
In this edition we decided to dedicate some space to put the spotlight on some local women and their exciting businesses .
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