Since it is 100 years since some women secured the right to vote, and nearly 50 years since the Equal Pay Act, it is only right the Government pushes forward and confines the gender pay gap to history, so that true equality in the workplace can be achieved, writes Eddisbury MP Antoinette Sandbach in her Guardian column. 

Huge progress has been made since the 1970’s and the gender pay gap now stands at a historic low. This is welcoming news, but we know that progress in shrinking the gap further remains far too slow.

We need to act now if we are to close the gap within a generation and make the gender pay gap a thing of the past.

Last year the Government introduced ground-breaking regulations to require employers with 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap data, helping to expose inequalities and close the earnings gap for good.

It is estimated that if women and men enjoyed parity in their hours, pay and seniority at work then we could see up to £150 billion added to our GDP by 2025.

Making full use of women’s academic achievements, experience and talents would help boost UK productivity, to the benefit of our whole economy and deliver true equality of opportunity for women in this country.