Stephen Morgan MP has slammed the Government for “thirteen years of failure” to boost women’s living standards and close the gender pay gap, while Labour pledges to put women at the heart of the UK’s economic growth.
It comes as analysis of ONS figures found that women in their 30s are, on average, £4,159 a year worse off in real terms than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010.
Figures show that, when taken with the CPI inflation index, the median full-time worker’s salary for women aged 30-39 in April 2010 was the equivalent of £37,899. Today it is £33,740.
Excluding London, women in the South East are worse off than all other regions in the UK, on average £2,000 worse off since 2010.
The analysis comes in the week of Equal Pay Day, the moment that, according to the Fawcett Society, women effectively stop earning, relative to men.
Earlier this month ONS figures showed that the UK’s gender pay gap remains stubbornly high at 7.7% overall.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“Many women in their 30s across our city are trying to get on the property ladder, get on at work and raise young children.
“But for too many the reality is a struggle to make ends meet, often worrying about the next bill, unable to work because of extortionate childcare or jobs that are too inflexible. That must change.
“An incoming Labour Government will prioritise gender inclusive economic growth, tackling the gender pay gap and ensuring women reap the rewards of their hard work.”
Labour’s Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary, Anneliese Dodds, said:
“The Conservatives crashed the economy and lumped working women with the bill. The last thing working women need is yet more Conservative failure.
“The Conservatives have no plan for economic growth and no clue how to support women at work.
“Labour has a clear plan to get our economy growing. We will put women at the heart of this growth with policies to support women at work.”
The city MP has been a champion for women and in tackling the inequalities they face. On this year’s International Women’s Day Mr Morgan called on the Government to provide greater support to female owned and female led businesses in Portsmouth.
