Women [not] doing it for themselves

This has been an odd week in a lot of ways.


On Twitter there have been a lot of tweets twanging around from Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell, her husband and CEO of SNP, about their campaign to take Glasgow from 'complacent' Labour.


Later in the week, there was news about the BBC's pay systems, revealed through an FoI.  Haven't had the time to work out why an FoI was needed when BBC should have been publishing  equal pay audits to comply with equality law.  I will follow that up next week.  The report suggested that women at the BBC were paid 10% less than men.  It gets better.


A BBC spokeswoman [my italics] said recruitment took place on merit alone.  She said: "Pay is determined individually based on on a range of factors including grade, role and responsibilities. It is never dependent on gender."  She probably believes in the 'Big Society' as well as the Tooth Fairy.


To close this loop of thought, Nicola is Cabinet Secretary for Health+ and has, since 2009 when she was quizzed by the Parliamentary Equal Opportunities Committee on equal pay, been dragging her feet on delivering equal pay in the NHS.  I have blogged extensively on this subject and chased Nicola with regular questions on when it will happen.  Her claim that Labour are complacent in Glasgow Council when she is stalling and delaying on equal pay reminds me of just how complacent she has been over the years of theft by men from the pay packets of women.


For those who are not fully conversant with Scottish politics and its key players, Nicola is a woman.  I mention this not to objectify her but because I have assumed she as a woman would want equal pay for women to be a top priority as health minister [a huge number of women work in our NHS] and as minister for equalities.


Not so.  Like the BBC 'spokeswoman', she has managed to find a way to persuade the sisterhood she is one of them whilst at the same time staying in the ranks of 'the boys'.


I will keep prodding Nicola with a sharp stick on equal pay.  The more people who do this the sooner we can get equal pay for our sisters.  I've made it easy for you. Just press the Twitter button, and your message will twang its way to Nicola. Tweet to @NicolaSturgeon