In The Media: The Women’s Organisation Asks: Are Your Daughters Worth 20% Less?

Maggie O’Carroll CEO of women’s enterprise support agency The Women’s Organisation spoke out in response to the news that the gender pay gap now stands at 19.2% and that large companies will have to publish their pay reports in 2018.

The government has revealed its plans for companies with over 250 employees to be ranked in a ‘League Table’ dictating the amounts that they pay their male and female staff, including bonuses, in a bid to draw attention to the gender pay gap which currently stands at 19.2%

Although it is illegal to pay men and women different amounts (and has been since 1974) the figure now stands at 19.2%, as estimated by the Office for National Statistics. This figure illustrates the gap between full and part time workers in the UK and means that a woman is now earning 80p for every £1 earned by her male counterpart.

The Women’s Organisation welcomes the changes announced in government this week that larger firms will be required to report and disclose their employees payments and salaries and believe that now is the time for transparency in regards to the pay gap between men and women, even though it is 45 years since the Equal Pay Act was passed demanding men and women receive the same amount for doing the same jobs.

CEO of The Women’s Organisation, Maggie O’Carroll said; ‘This news is a step in the right direction towards gender equality, but there is still work to be done. There needs to be transparency and it needs to come from these larger companies who have the mechanisms in place to monitor and evaluate their business practices.’

‘Women are still earning 20% less than men every year, which is morally wrong. Exposing this bad practice is an incentive to start addressing this issue, but where is the enforcement and where is the punishment for these companies to be held accountable? We’re not interested in naming and shaming these companies, we want action.’

The Women’s Organisation also believes that the 20% difference between men and women’s pay is morally and economically bankrupting the women of the United Kingdom, and that the 20% could impact our economy and our communities if the women had it to spend.

Maggie O’Carroll said; ‘We think it is time that Britain leads by example in this area and doesn’t just continue with the outdated and redundant practices that in place. We would like to invite the CEO’s and Directors of these companies to think about their own daughters and whether they deserve 20% less than their male counterparts.’ 

Local Business Community Offer 20th Birthday Wishes for The Women's Organisation

It is officially 20 years since The Women's Organisation started as Train 2000 Ltd. with a vision of supporting the economic development of women. Over that time we have supported over 50,000 women to consider their enterprise and employment options and helped to build a national framework for women's enterprise.  We have considered it a priveledge to work with so many amazing women the last 2 decades and are excited to see what the next 20 years has in store. 

Some of our key supporters from the last 20 years have been kindly offering us their birthday wishes and thoughts on our achievements over the last 2 decades. We wanted to share some of these lovely comments with you.

Lisa Greenhalgh, MSIF 

“The Women’s Organisation has been such an important factor locally in helping women of all ages, background and circumstance set up their own businesses. A lot of successful businesses in the region are run by women and they are an important contributor to the growth of the local economy. The support provided by the Women’s Organisation has given women the confidence, knowledge and practical advice to make their business ideas a reality and achieve their dreams. We are delighted to have worked with them in partnership over the years and look forward to continuing this relationship in the future to help even more women set up in business.”
Lisa Greenhalgh, Chief Operating Officer, MSIF

Max Steinberg,
Liverpool Vision

“An organisation that promotes and supports the development of women in business is not unique to Liverpool – most major cities will have some group or organisation that promotes women’s business through networking, mentoring, business support or a combination of all of these things. However what is unique to Liverpool is the level of commitment and innovation which the Women’s Organisation has demonstrated consistently over its 20-year life span. Now internationally renowned, the Women’s Organisation nevertheless remains true to its founding principle of delivering tangible results by being accessible to all women, regardless of their social or economic standing. Of the 50,000 women the WO has helped since its inception in 1996, over 27% have been lone parents, 21% from the BME community; and a significant proportion of their clients were experiencing mental ill health and distress. To have achieved the results they have is therefore nothing short of remarkable. I therefore take great pleasure in offering my warm congratulations on their 20th anniversary, and in wishing Maggie and her team even more outstanding success for the future.”
Max Steinberg, Chief Executive, Liverpool Vision

Frank McKenna,
Downtown in Business

"The Women’s Organisation are a key strategic partner for Downtown, and they have helped (and persuaded) enormously in recent years in the campaigning and advocacy work our organisation has undertaken on the female enterprise agenda.  We have had the pleasure of working with many of the women led businesses that have been supported by WO, and Maggie and the team fulfil an essential role in helping, developing and growing female owned companies across the Liverpool city region and beyond.
Happy twentieth anniversary. Here’s to the next twenty!"

Frank McKenna, Chairman Downtown in Business

Steve Coffey, LMH

“We have been a supporter of The Women’s Organisation for many years – they carry out some fantastic work for the benefit of the wider community – and have made a big difference in our neighbourhoods.
The organisation has helped create over 100 new businesses run by tenants, which in turn have supported more than 1,000 women in their attempts to achieve economic and social well being.  Our enterprise team works closely with them to deliver an innovative partnership programme to encourage emerging female and social entrepreneurs to start their own businesses, which is crucial if we are to build truly equal and diverse communities.”
Steve Coffey, Chief Executive at Liverpool Mutual Homes

Pamela Ball, KCVS

For twenty years the Women’s Organisation has progressively worked to improve the lives of women entrepreneurs and our local communities. They are leaders in the equality movement as well as giving expertise for businesses that is unmatched across Merseyside. When I first became aware of The Women's Org and then met Maggie and her colleagues , I was bowled over by the passion , shared commitment and bravery that they all showed with regards to championing women’s rights, positive equalities policies and in simply raising  the profile of women in our local communities. Personally TWO and its events and people have become like a second home to me where I can not only count on support for our newly forming Women’s Equality Party local branch, but support my beliefs in equalities and the harm done to women in an unequal society. Thank you for letting me become a friend of TWO and I would be privileged to share positive passion with your organisation through its next twenty years !
Pamela Ball, CEO KCVS , BA , FRSA   

Heather Waters, Natwest

"I have had the pleasure to work with The Women's Organisation for 3 years although there has been a long standing relationship with some of our staff.  We have always had a great working relationship where we have been more than happy to promote/signpost the support the W.O. Offers  to women looking to start and growth their businesses.  In the last 2 years we have had the opportunity to award grant funding for additional support. One of these projects was POWER- this was a great success and they exceeded the targets agreed. They worked with over 300 women and did create businesses.  Promoting Opportunities for Women in Enterprise and Regeneration (POWER) programme provided support to women living in deprived communities in the Liverpool city region and who were disadvantaged as a result of being unemployed, economically inactive, disabled or from a BME community, to start their own business or social enterprise.

 I am so pleased to hear that they are celebrating 20 years of supporting women in Enterprise and long may it continue. Congratulations and Well Done!"

Heather Waters, North England Territory Enterprise Manager Natwest

We are so grateful to have worked alongside some amazing organisations and fabulous women over our 20 years.  If you have fond memories of your time with The Women's Organisation (formally Train 2000) and would like to share your story or birthday wishes with us, please contact our team via 20Years@thewo.org.uk - We are making 2016 the year of celebrating 20 years of women's economic development and inspirational stories of our women.