The fight for equal pay began here

A film by Elizabeth Dixon

At the end of WW1, London’s female transport workers, aggrieved by being paid less than men, secretly organise a strike that shocks Britain to a stand still, setting off the first tidal wave in the fight to close the pay gap.

Pound for Pound - Five Fifty Five online.png

Why we excited about Pound for Pound

2018 is the 100 year anniversary of the true events in this story
This is the first strike for equal pay recorded in history
We’re partnering with CARE International for film proceeds to support women in the workplace
We are supported by women's rights groups and activists including Helen Pankhurst, granddaughter of the famed Emmeline Panhurst
We have a minimum of 50% female and minority led on- and off-set
We have BAFTA- and Academy Award-nominated and winning talent in our cast and crew
This story proves a narrative often overlooked - that women and minorities worked throughout WWI for Britain and beyond
We’ve come a long way, but we still don’t have equal pay, and it’s time to shine a light on the successful story of the 1918 equal pay strike, with a strategic and measurable campaign for change

Helen Pankhurst, Women's Rights Activist

and granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst

“More than a century ago, suffrage campaigners were very aware of the problem of pay differences and also campaigned on the matter. For example Emmeline Pankhurst wrote an open letter to the then Chancellor, published in the newspapers in 1915,
demanding equal pay for equal work. Many women also took up the battle directly.

One of the first recorded strikes in the UK that I came across in my research, and one of the most amazing ones, is the 1918 women bus conductors of Willesden depo. I am delighted that their story will be brought to life in Pound for Pound – This will be a chance to share their amazing story and to pay tribute to some of those who took a stand for a struggle that, 100 years later, we are still waging.”

Taken from Five Fifty Five's announcement of Pound for Pound

NEWS

Pound for Pound Announcment: Check us out via Five Fifty Five

Director's Statement

Did you know about these women? Did you know about this event? No, neither did I. Even now you know about them, you will struggle to find any trace in history of them. Somehow an event that caused over 18,000 people to strike for equal pay, holding Britain ransom at the close of the first world war, has quite magnificently been left out of the history books.

So we would like to rectify that. You see, if this battle doesn’t exist in our history, it weakens our fight for equal pay that we have today. But if it does exist, then that changes everything. By bringing this event out of obscurity we add their voices to ours, we get them in our corner of the ring. Acknowledging their actions 100 years ago, bolsters and empowers our campaigns for equality.

If ‘round one’ had existed in our history books, in our curriculums, in our google searches and news streams, we might not be having the same battle’s today. We want to add their voices to our current strikes, protests and campaigns for equal pay and equal opportunity. So that perhaps 100 years from now, we won't have to do it again! I’m excited to get into the boxing ring with them.... Are you?

The true story behind ‘Pound for Pound’ literally found me. I felt inspired to research female heroes from WW1. One day I stumbled across a book on transport on the front line of wartimes. There were some fabulous pictures in it, one of which was of a female tram conductor, with a small sentence next to it saying in '1918 women went on strike for equal pay.' It wasn't a story I had heard before, but it instantly struck a chord as its still relevant to today! As I started to unravel the story, I was instantly mesmerised and inspired by their story and the huge numbers of people that joined in to support the fight for equal pay.

-Charly Burridge-Jones, Actor and Producer