The Equal Pay Campaign Committee (1941–1956) (EPCC) was a UK women's organisation, formed to redress the issue of unequal pay for women.'''' As the fight for

Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom A movement to fight for women's right to vote in the United Kingdom finally succeeded through acts of Parliament in 1918 and 1928. It became a national movement in the Victorian era. Women were not explicitly banned from voting in Great Brita ...

was being won, a number of women's organisations in the 1920s began to lobby for equal pay for women. The Depression had resulted in women workers often being blamed for unemployment amongst men and many

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

became openly hostile to improving women's pay.''''

Precursor

The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

saw the 1941 Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme perpetuate gender inequality; women unable to work due to wartime injuries were offered less compensation than men, reflecting their lower rates of pay. The Scheme was opposed by women's organisations and action was co-ordinated by the National Association of Women Civil Servants and the British Federation of Business & Professional Women. To co-ordinate their oppositionthe 'Equal Compensation for War Injury for Men and Women Campaign Committee' was created. Chaired by

Mavis Tate Mavis Constance Tate (born Maybird Hogg; 17 August 1893 – 5 June 1947) was a British Conservative politician and campaigner for British women's rights. Life Her first marriage, to Captain G. H. Gott, lasted from 1915 until their divorce in ...

, the Committee had representatives from the Women Power Committee, The National Association of Women Civil Servants, the British Federation of Business & Professional Women (BFBPW), the

National Council of Women of Great Britain The National Council of Women exists to co-ordinate the voluntary efforts of women across Great Britain. Founded as the National Union of Women Workers, it said that it would "promote sympathy of thought and purpose among the women of Great Brita ...

, the Women's Publicity Planning Association and later the

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigned for women's suffrage and sexual equality. It was an offshoot of the militant suffragettes after the Pankhursts decide to rule without democratic support fro ...

. Their efforts led to a government select committee being created, which overturned the existing legislation and resulted in equal compensation rates being paid from 1943.''''

Creation of the Committee

The logical development from this significant achievement was to tackle the larger issue of equal pay for women. A new committee was created under the title of the Equal Pay Campaign Committee, with a sister branch in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and an attached advisory council. Mavis Tate was appointed Chair, a post she held until

Thelma Cazalet-Keir Thelma Cazalet-Keir CBE (née Cazalet; 28 May 1899 – 13 January 1989) was a British feminist and Conservative Party politician. Early life Thelma Cazalet was born in London, the third child - of four - and only daughter, of William Marshal ...

became Chair 1947-1957. Both women, together with prominent supporter

Irene Ward Irene Mary Bewick Ward, Baroness Ward of North Tyneside, (23 February 1895 – 26 April 1980) was a British Conservative Party politician. She was a long-serving female Member of Parliament (MP), the longest serving female Conservative MP in hi ...

, were

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members oft ...

. Yet both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party were united in their reluctance to support equal pay for women. Women's organisations offered practical support: the Joint Committee on Women in the Civil Service advised Tate, whilst accommodation was provided by the National Association of Women Civil Servants. The British Federation of Business & Professional Women gave financial support. The involvement of the female politicians helped the Equal Pay Campaign Committee initiate parliamentary debates very quickly after its creation''.''

Royal Commission

A Royal Commission on Equal Pay was established and a report was quickly published in October 1946''.'' This recommended that equal pay might benefit women in teaching and selected civil service grades. The

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O ...

proposed that the Government should extend implementation of the recommendations to Government industrial establishments - in order to influence the pay negotiations in the private sector. The Equal Pay Campaign Committee publicised the report's findings in 1946 and 1947, through publicity and public meetings. With the Status of Women Committee a meeting was held in the Public Hall at Westminster, whilst Nina Popplewell organised a national campaign.'''' An Advisory Committee was created which included members with political aims, unlike the main committee. This enabled an invite to be extended to the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The F ...

and the Women's Communist Party, although the latter declined. Activities reached a peak during 1948-1949 with publications and a newsletter being created to increase publicity.

'To Be A Woman' Film

The British Federation of Business & Professional Women paid for an Equal Pay Campaign Committee film made by

Jill Craigie Jill Craigie (born Noreen Jean Craigie; 7 March 1911 – 13 December 1999) was a British documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and feminist. She was one of Britain's earliest female documentary makers. Her early films demonstrate Craigie's interes ...

. Her film, `To Be A Woman', first screened in 1951 and illustrates the skill of the Committee to generate publicity.

Petition to Parliament

On 9 March 1954 an 'Equal Pay in the public services' petition was submitted to Parliament. Two similar petitions combined to create a joint demand with over 80,000 signatories and demonstrated cross party unity from the female politicians. The first page was signed by

Muriel Pierotti Muriel Pierotti (7 July 1897 – 25 October 1982) was an English feminist and trade unionist. She was a leading figure in the National Union of Women Teachers (NUWT), for which she worked for more than 35 years. Life A. Muriel Pierotti was born ...

Ethel Watts Ethel Watts Mumford (1876/1878 – 1940) was an American author from New York City. The surname Mumford came from her first husband, George D. Mumford, a lawyer (married 1894–1901). After her first husband grew intolerant of her prolific writ ...

Philippa Strachey Philippa Strachey, CBE (19 April 1872 – 23 August 1968) was a British suffragist. She organised major suffrage demonstrations and went on to lead the Fawcett Society. Life Pippa was born in Knightsbridge as the fifth child of the large St ...

and Horton. The petition was presented by four politicians -

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule ...

's Patricia Ford,

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and Labour Party's

Edith Summerskill Edith Clara Summerskill, Baroness Summerskill, (19 April 1901 – 4 February 1980) was a British physician, feminist, Labour politician and writer. She was appointed to the Privy Council in 1949. Early life Summerskill was educated at King's ...

and

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002), was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in B ...

. The four politicians arrived together in a horse drawn carriage decorated in suffragette colours. The petition had been sparked in 1951 by the Labour Chancellor

Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until his death in 1963. An economics lecturer and wartime civil servant, ...

's claim - in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

chamber - that equal pay for women would drive up prices.'

Teachers and Nurses

Between 1918-1987 the Burnham committee was responsible for setting teachers' pay in the UK. The National Union of Women Teachers were active in the Equal Pay Campaign Committee and took advice from fellow members. In 1954 the Equal Pay Campaign Committee approached the local authority representatives on the Burnham Committee, widening the push for equal pay across public services to women teachers. This approach was also used to influence the

Whitley Council Whitley may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom * Whitley, Berkshire, a suburb of Reading * Whitley, Cheshire, a village near Warrington * Whitley, Coventry, a suburb of Coventry, West Midlands *Whitley, Essex, near Birdbrook * Whitley, Wigan, Great ...

s to adopt the principal of equal pay for men and women. One of these Councils negotiated pay for nurses and midwives. The

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...

(RCN) represented a significant proportion of the female nurses on the Council. In 1948 there were just under 150,000 nurses and midwives employed in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in England and Wales. However there was a severe shortage of nurses post War with some 30,000 vacancies in 1945 rising to 54,00 by 1948. Pay was a critical factor to retention and recruitment, so the RCN became an active member of the Equal Pay Campaign Committee to improve pay for its members. This included responding to superannuation proposals for nurses and other officers under the

National Health Service Act 1946 The National Health Service Act 1946c 81 came into effect on 5 July 1948 and created the National Health Service in England and Wales thus being the first implementation of the Beveridge model. Though the title 'National Health Service' implies a ...

. The RCN was not just concerned about NHS nurses who at this time predominantly worked in hospitals. They drew up a recommended national salary scale for public health nurses and the rapidly growing number of industrial nurses. The scales were dependent on qualifications and experience, again taking the advice of other Equal Pay Campaign members on board.

Closure

In February 1956 the Equal Pay Campaign Committee disbanded having achieved agreement to the introduction, in stages, of equal pay in the public sector.'''' A statement in ''The Times'' in March 1956 reported that ''"Mrs. Thelma Cazalet-Keir, said that in view of the Government's decision to implement equal pay in the Civil Service by seven stages, and the corresponding decisions of the Burnham Committee and other bodies, " the committee and council believe that the further necessary work to implement full equal pay is best undertaken by the individual organizations in their own spheres.""'' Although the Committee had achieved significant success by 1956, it was not until 1970 that legislation for Equal Pay was introduced by

as the Equal Pay Act. This required strengthening with the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1975, and subsequent Equality Acts. There remains a Gender pay gap in the United Kingdom.

Organisations represented on the committee

By 1956 there were some 50 organisations involved in the committee''''. These included: *

Actresses' Franchise League The Actresses' Franchise League was a women's suffrage organisation, mainly active in England. Founding In 1908 the Actresses' Franchise League was founded by Gertrude Elliott, Adeline Bourne, Winifred Mayo and Sime Seruya at a meeting in ...

(AFL). * British Federation of Business & Professional Women (BFBPW) *

Fawcett Society The Fawcett Society is a membership charity in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation dates back to 1866, when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage. Original ...

* Joint Committee on Women in the Civil Service * National Association of Women Civil servants *

National Union of Women Teachers The National Union of Women Teachers (NUWT) was a trade union representing women schoolteachers in Great Britain. It originated in 1904 as a campaign for equal pay for equal work, and dissolved in 1961, when this was achieved. History Women t ...

(NUWT) *

(NCW) *

Open Door Council The Open Door Council, established in May 1926, was a British organisation pressing for equal economic opportunities for women. It opposed the extension of 'protective legislation' for women, regarding such legislation as 'restrictive' and arguing t ...

(RCN) *

Six Point Group The Six Point Group was a British feminist campaign group founded by Lady Rhondda in 1921 to press for changes in the law of the United Kingdom in six areas. Aims The six original specific aims were: # Satisfactory legislation on child assault; ...

(WFL) * Status of Women Committee (1935–1985) chaired by Thelma Cazalet-Keir. * Women's Adjustment Board formed by the AFL during the Second World War to help find employment for women during wartime. * Women Power Committee This had been formed to promote the interests of British women during the Second World War, after discussions between

Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

and

Caroline Haslett Dame Caroline Harriet Haslett DBE, JP (17 August 1895 – 4 January 1957) was an English electrical engineer, electricity industry administrator and champion of women's rights. She was the first secretary of the Women's Engineering Society an ...

the President of the BFBPW. * Women's Publicity Planning Association

Notable committee members and supporters

Dorothy Evans Dorothy Elizabeth Evans (6 May 1888 – 28 August 1944) was a British feminist activist and suffragette. On the eve of World War I she was a militant organiser for the Women's Social and Political Union twice arrested in Belfast on explos ...

was a member of the predecessor Equal Compensation Campaign 1941-1943, and then from 1944 a committee member for the National Association of Women Civil Servants *

Chair 1947-1957. *

Gertrude Horton Gertrude Isabella Morton Horton, born Gertrude Isabella Morton Robertson (26 August 1901 – 19 May 1978) was a British feminist who ran the Townswomen's Guild for over 25 years and then took a leading role in the Fawcett Society. She led a cam ...

Secretary from 1951. *

Vice Chair 1940s-1950s for the NUWT. * Nina Popplewell Secretary from 1947.'''' *

Marian Reeves Marian Reeves (19 February 1879 – 30 August 1961) was a British people, British feminist activist. Life Born in Lewisham, then part of Kent, Reeves became interested in women's suffrage, and joined the Women's Freedom League (WFL) in 1909. ...

active member. *

was Chair 1942-1947 *

active member. *

Treasurer n.d., for the Fawcett Society. *

Monica Whately (Mary) Monica Whately (30 November 1889 – 12 September 1960) was a British suffragist and political activist. Life Born in the Brompton area of London, Whately studied at the London School of Economics. In 1912, she and her mother, Maude, w ...

active member{{Cite ODNB , title=Whately, (Mary) Monica (1889–1960), campaigner for women's rights and civil liberties , url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-63900 , access-date=2025-01-30 , date=2004 , language=en , doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/63900 , last1=Walker , first1=Linda

References

1941 establishments in the United Kingdom 1956 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Feminist organisations in the United Kingdom Women's rights in the United Kingdom Equal pay for equal work