History
Parity was formed in 1986 as "Campaign for Equal State Pension Ages" (CESPA) and its principal aim was to obtain for men the same state pension rights at age 60 as are enjoyed by women. The organisation changed its name to "Parity" in 1997 to reflect growing concern regarding increased unequal treatment of men and women by the state.
CESPA's inaugural meeting was held on 29 August 1986 in Committee Room 1 of Manchester Town Hall.The ten founder members were G.W. Alderton, D.Higgins, D.J.D Yarwood, J.H Bennett, E.L Anderson, J.Greenwood, M.D Davidson, J.Graham, D.G Lindsay, and J. Bradfield. The original Cespa constitution was agreed. The meeting appointed David Lindsay as Chairman, Geoff Alderton as Vice-Chairman, David Yarwood as Hon Secretary and John Bennett as Treasurer.
Parity was denied charitable status for a number of years because it was seeking changes in the law to redress statutory sex discrimination, and thus was deemed to be political. It finally gained charitable status in 2005 following a change to the Human Rights Act.
Read more about this topic: Parity (charity)
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“Like their personal lives, women’s history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and the demands of others.”
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