The cost of living crisis has stalled efforts to achieve gender equality in the workplace, says general secretary of trade union umbrella body Wales TUC. Shavanah Taj, who joined Wales TUC in February 2019 from the Public and Commercial Services Union, believes women still have a “long way to go” before achieving equity in pay and in terms and conditions of employment.
“There is a lot of talk about ethics, improvements and standard setting but now with a cost of living crisis, it feels like we have gone backwards. The attitude has become whatever you can get, you can get,” she said. And on International Women’s Day, women still aren’t getting a fair deal in the workplace.
Last month, the TUC published data which revealed that the gender pay gap now stood at 15%, meaning that women work 54 days a year - nearly two months - for free. In Wales, it is around 45 days.
