TIL that in 1976 the EU/EEC told Ireland it was in breach of its rules on sex equality in the workplace, so the gov of the day decided they better hire someone to implement it correctly, so they advertised the job in the papers and it had different salaries for men and women.

10 comments

1. Oops!

2. Seems dubious given this research from 1980s: http://archive.oireachtas.ie/1988/APPENDIX_31051988_1.html

   May just indicate the dates are wrong (the legislation may have been a result of EEC engagement). Similar changes were made in Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the latter later than the rest of the UK).

3. I’m hesitant to trust an IrishCentral “weird facts” article without some more definitive evidence.

4. Sounds about right, because there was a lot of terrible things that Irish women had to go through when it came to employment so I’m not surprised by the wage inequality. Bear in mind I’m also a woman so it’s an issue that I and many others still face today when it comes to employers stuck in the stone age.

   I remember being told as a child that my granny had to give up her job as a nurse after marrying my grandad back in the early 60s because of the laws about married women’s employment rights. Married women were only allowed to continue working after they got married from 1974 onwards.

   My eldest aunt started working for the civil service in the late 70s and has told me that there were many instances of men WORKING IN THE CIVIL SERVICE trying to RAPE their female colleagues during that time. What’s a little wage disparity anyway? Sure didn’t they deserve it for not staying at home? /s.

   When you’re told about these things that the people you love experienced as women who are just trying to make something of themselves, it’s very upsetting. I really appreciate living in a place and time where my choice of career isn’t dictated by my genitals and marital status, but some things like pay parity and freedom from sexual assault at work are still ongoing issues unfortunately.

5. Googled it and can’t find any reference to this happening

6. Just a few years earlier, many jobs had a “marriage ban”, where once women got married, they were no longer permitted to work and had to resign.

7. Irish Central and Facts, does not compute

8. Here is a reference to an Irish Times article on that: “Unequal pay for equal pay officers, by Christina Murphy, Jan 13 1976”
   https://twitter.com/dwmal1/status/856957651170754561

9. If it’s in the papers, then its archived somewhere.

10. Lordy that title was hard to read