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Women in Ireland are effectively working for free from today according to WorkEqual

Members are highlighting the current gender pay gap in the country

From today women in Ireland are effectively working for free.

That’s the message from WorkEqual which is highlighting the current gender pay gap of 14.4%.

The group is running a series of online events and awareness-raising activities focused on gender equality in the workplace across November.

It’s the fifth year for the month-long campaign which, in addition to holding online panel discussions on gender stereotyping, flexible working, caring duties and women in leadership this month, is marking Equal Pay Day today with the release of a video featuring over 20 Oireachtas members and the Lord Mayor of Dublin speaking about gender equality.

Participants include representatives from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and Solidarity-People Before Profit.

The video will be released on WorkEqual’s social media channels this morning and will be followed by a lunchtime panel discussion (online) on the topic of ‘Why Understanding the Pay Gap is Key to Gender Equality at Work’.

Panellists include: Sonja Yr Thorbergsdottir, President of the Icelandic Federation of State and Municipal Employees; Laura Jones, Research Associate at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership; Andrew Brownlee, CEO of SOLAS, one of the headline sponsors of the WorkEqual campaign; and Emma Kerins, Head of Policy and Public Affairs with Chambers Ireland.