The award winning USA television programme Mad Men has returned to our screens. Mad Men in case you haven’t seen it is about the world of advertising in1960’s New York. The title comes from the head quarters of the biggest advertising agency located on Madison Avenue. White men rule the world, the office is a place of casual unthinking sexism where female employees have their bottoms patted, the boss instructs his secretary to wear shorter skirts and the only black staff are the cleaners.
This doesn’t happen in the modern work place although there are plenty of not so older staff who can remember when it did. So our daughters are no longer subject to casual sexism, unwelcome comments, restricted career opportunities and unequal pay. Well not quite. Despite changes in attitudes and the law women are still underrepresented in the top jobs especially women with children and men are still paid more for the same or equal value jobs
The latest evidence of this comes from the City which still seems to be living in the world of Mad Men. A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commissions states women working fulltime in the finance sector earn 55% less a year on average than male counter parts. Before we dismiss this as the further evidence of Sexism in the City, the land where time stood still, remember that Local Authorities who have always consider themselves model employers are struggling to rectify years of paying women less. The school dinner ladies were paid less than the refuse disposal men because women went out to work for pin money whereas men were the bread winners. This stereotype was used to justify not only differentials in pay but in bonus schemes, over time and holiday pay entitlement. Equal Pay reviews are set to address this. So the good news is staff in predominantly female areas of work like home helps, residential care workers and day centre workers will see their pay and conditions improve. The bad news is the resulting increased costs could mean that cash strapped Local Authorities could transfer these services to the private sector who pay little above minimum wage.
Blair McPherson is author of Elephant in the Room an equality and diversity training manual and People management in a harsh financial climate both published by www.russellhouse.co.uk