Made in Dagenham | ★★★★★★★

I think that the Occupy Wall Street protests could take a cue from this 2010 flick that tells the story of a 1968 labor strike initiated by hundreds of women who rebelled against discrimination and demanded the same pay as men for their work in a Ford manufacturing plant in London. Here are a few pointers the OWS could learn from these passionate women:

1) A great cause requires a great leader. In the film the amazing Rita O'Grady (played by Sally Hawkins) rises from obscurity and defeats a gigantic auto maker. It is a great David and Goliath story.

2) You have to know what you are protesting about. Equal pay for equal work was uncommon in the 60s but these women knew they were in the right.

3) You need the support of others. At first the men were not on the women's side because the strike was negatively affecting their jobs. Things changed when the men changed. Shared sacrifice was essential to succeed.

I enjoyed the film and its message. On a scale of ten I give it ★★★★★★★.

Interesting to note that some think that women's pay may overtake men's pay by 2020. Do you think it will?

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1 comment:

  1. pearlieNovember 27, 2011 at 4:27:00 AM CST

    I am not sure if women's pay will be better. I just watched "I Don't Know How She Does It" and I hear things like this which in a sense is quite true, and feel even though women will get there, it will not be easy: "Told her that the only way to get on at EMF is to act like one of the boys, and when you act like one of the boys they call you abrasive and difficult, so you act like a woman and they say you're emotional and difficult. Difficult being their word for everything that's not them."

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