‘A revolutionary concept’: uncovering women’s activism in employment equality cases in the 1970s and 1980s Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom

The introduction of foundational employment equality legislation in the UK and Republic of Ireland in the 1970s did not automatically create a more equitable workplace. While legislation such as the Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act 1974 and Employment Equality Act 1977 in the Republic of Ireland, and the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975 in the United Kingdom, addressed long-established workplace inequities such as gendered pay scales and sex discrimination, many employers chose to evade the new laws. Women workers were often forced to pursue employment equality cases to avail of their rights—a decision with the potential to jeopardise an established livelihood. This article explores three contrasting cases and their wider context; a 1976 British sex discrimination taken by Vivien Saunders, a golf professional, a 1978 case pursued by Senator Mary Robinson in the ROI and a 1979 equal pay claim made by Glen Electric’s employees in Northern Ireland. These women’s actions expanded definitions of activism and served to test the new law’s provisions, creating a fairer workplace for future generations of women workers.