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Women work for free for the rest of 2018

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Written by: Paloma Kubiak
09/11/2018
Tomorrow marks ‘Equal Pay Day’ where women effectively stop earning relative to men so they’re working for free for the rest of the year.

This date – 10 November – has been the same for the past two years, highlighting that the gender pay gap hasn’t closed, even marginally.

It’s calculated by gender equality campaign group, The Fawcett Society, showing that despite the Equal Pay Act passed in 1970, women still earn less than men in Britain today.

Maike Currie, investment director for Fidelity International said the 1970 Act made it illegal to pay men and women differently for the same work. Unfortunately nearly 50 years later, the gender pay gap still exists.

She said: “Despite great inroads made in terms of gender equality, women are still the primary caregivers – they’re more than likely to be the ones opting out of work to look after an ill or elderly relative or to raise a family. This often means that at the time when most men are getting promoted and enjoying pay rises, women may find their careers ground to a stuttering halt.

“As women we might not always have much control over things like the gender pay gap or Equal Pay Day, and we can’t always control whether we get that elusive pay rise or promotion. But we do have control over our personal finances.

“Make sure your savings are working hard enough by taking the appropriate level of risk. And whatever you do, save into a pension. Our research found that if a woman contributed an extra 1% of her salary to her pension than she could close the gender pension gap by retirement.”

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