What does the Equal Pay Act 1970 prohibit?

What does the Equal Pay Act 1970 prohibit?

• A. It is illegal to hire women.
• B. It is illegal to pay women less than men for equal labour.
• C. It is illegal to discriminate by race in education.
• D. It is illegal to study certain subjects.

Answer: (B)

Pay discrimination based on sex for the same work is what the Equal Pay Act targets: it prohibits paying women less than men for equal work in the same workplace. Wages should reflect the job itself and the worker’s qualifications, not gender; differences based on non-gender factors like experience or performance can be justified if applied without regard to gender. This is why the statement about paying women less for equal labour is the correct description of the Act, while hiring restrictions or education/discrimination in study subjects fall outside its scope.

Pay discrimination based on sex for the same work is what the Equal Pay Act targets: it prohibits paying women less than men for equal work in the same workplace. Wages should reflect the job itself and the worker’s qualifications, not gender; differences based on non-gender factors like experience or performance can be justified if applied without regard to gender. This is why the statement about paying women less for equal labour is the correct description of the Act, while hiring restrictions or education/discrimination in study subjects fall outside its scope.