Politicians pay lip service to it all the time. What a surprise, then, to learn from the latest review by the Equal Opportunities commission that Britain has the worst record in the European Union on equal pay. Women in full time work are still earning only four fifths of what men earn. For women working part time it's worse. Industry by industry the gender pay gap has actually widened since 1997.
Paid maternity leave is worse than in Europe too.
This is a scandalous state of affairs. It's 30 years since the Equal Pay legislation. New Labour came in with a swathe of Blair Babes on the green benches, and a Women's Unit set up to tackle the remaining unfairnesses. Now, a generation further on, I am amending my advice. Easter I was born on Easter Sunday, the most uplifting day in the Christian calendar.