British actress paid half as much as male co-star

British actress paid half as much as male co-star

A British actress has threatened to quit her role in “The Wedding Singer” after discovering her male colleagues were being paid twice as much.

The former Emmerdale star, Roxanne Pallett, had signed up to the stage show not knowing that her male co-stars were being paid more and recieving extra expenses to cover hotels while on tour.

She had reportedly confronted her bosses and demanded for equal pay.

A source had said: “She had them over a barrel. She’s disgusted they tried to get away with paying her so little compared to Ray and Jon – for doing exactly the same job as them”.

Ms Pallett’s case is just the latest in a long line of equal pay disputes.

It’s illegal for women to be paid less than men for the same work, but reports estimate that the average woman is paid £5,732 less than a man doing the same role.

And figures reveals that some 54,000 women are forced to leave their job every year as a result of poor treatment after they have had a baby.

“The gender pay gap becomes a significant lifetime pay penalty. The gap widens for older women and becomes a significant pensions gap in retirement,” said the Fawcett Society’s chief executive Sam Smethers.

She added: “The impact of having children means that as men’s careers take off, women’s often stagnate or decline.

“Their salaries never fully recover. We have to make it easier for men to share care, create flexibility first at work and open up more senior roles as quality part-time jobs.”