Gloria De Piero MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, speaking on Equal Pay Day said:

“It is simply not good enough that forty years after the Equal Pay Act women still don’t earn equal pay for equal work, and despite doing better at school and university more women end up in lower skilled and lower paid jobs than men.

“On David Cameron’s watch decades of progress for women is slipping backwards. With unemployment amongst women reaching its highest levels for a generation, and women paying three times more than men to bring down the deficit we need a Government that will deliver a recovery not just for a few at the top but one that works for women.

“And this means supporting women throughout their professional lives to get on. Which is why Labour will ensure that every primary school offers access to childcare between 8am and 6pm and extend free childcare for working parents from 15 to 25 hours for three and four year olds. So that having children doesn’t have to mean taking a step back in women’s careers.

“The whole economy loses when women’s talents and skills are under-valued and under-used and this is as true for David Cameron’s Cabinet as it is for business.”