The future is female: Want to boost the economy? Boost women first

New analysis shows that the gender pay gap for women in their fifties will not close until 2050 at current rates. That’s bad for women – and bad for Britain, writes deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner

The economy could be boosted by up to £7bn were employment rates among this group to return to pre-pandemic levels (PA)

The Equal Pay Act was the first piece of legislation in the UK to give women the right to equal pay in the workplace, establishing the principle of equal pay for equal work.

Today marks the anniversary of that landmark bill becoming law on 29 May 1970, following the tireless campaigning by the striking sewing machinists immortalised in the film Made in Dagenham.

But we still have a long way to go. New analysis shows that the gender pay gap for women in their fifties will not close until 2050 at current rates. That’s bad for women – and bad for the economy.