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Jobs for the Girls: Two Years On

I agree with my hon. Friend to the extent that she is right that there are expectations in society and roles and jobs in life that are undervalued or less valued than others. Part of the reason for the part-time pay gap is that women are crowded into jobs that are undervalued and less valued. That is one of the complexities that we face in closing some of these gaps. It is not just easy and simple to say, ““Let's have equal pay.”” If 80 per cent. of part-time workers are women and part-time pay is a lot lower, then it is not a surprise that more women are underpaid than men. We have to tackle these issues across the board, not just because of the importance of fairness in our society, as my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley said, but also, as a number of hon. Members said, because it matters to our economy and its health and to our society as a whole that we make the most of the resources that we have. Our biggest and best resource is our people—all our people, not just the men.