Transparency

Today I gave evidence to the Equality of Opportunity Committee on equal pay. After nearly 40 years of equal pay legislation, women are still consistently paid less than men, and the comparison is even worse for hourly wages of part time women vs hourly wages of full time men. Women are still segregated in employment, part time work is largely low paid and low skilled, flexible working is not as widely available as it should be, women take on the majority of care in society be it paid or unpaid and it is hugely undervalued.

And hugely unfair. And I'm sick of it, sick of seeing the same old stats again and again and sick of seeing 'action' that isn't robust enough, lacking in sanctions for non compliance. Sick of seeing the number of equal pay cases rising in the tribunal system knowing that for many of these women they will be waiting at least 5 to 10 years for justice.

And for all those women who never had access to justice, and now live as pensioners in poverty because for so long it was ok to deny women access to decent jobs, fair pay and promotional opportunities. Now it isn't ok to deny women their rights, but we still do it.

This shot was taken inside the Senedd, our National Assembly for Wales. The committee was downstairs. The design of this building is linked to core values of the Assembly, including transparency and engagement. Anyone can easily visit and see the proceedings taking place. The policy making process is much more accessible to ordinary people, as well as experts or representatives. I just have to hold onto the hope that we'll find a way to break one of the most deeply entrenched inequalities of this day and age.