Women in equal pay protest at CBI conference

Hundreds of women and girls protested outside the Confederation of British
Industry’s (CBI) annual conference in Manchester last week demanding
organisations carry out mandatory equal pay audits. The demonstration was
organised by trade union Amicus which claimed it will take 40 years before
women are guaranteed equal pay without government intervention to make pay
audits compulsory. The protesters argued that the CBI is effectively endorsing
sex discrimination by failing to back mandatory audits. Amicus joint general
secretary Roger Lyons said: "The CBI is aiding and abetting the theft of
women’s wages by sexist employers." A CBI spokesman agreed the pay gap
must be tackled but said it opposed statutory pay audits as they would create
an administrative burden for employers.