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Women's rights campaigners are calling on the Government not to water down a Bill on equality in the workplace.
The Fawcett Society, unions and the Child Poverty Action Group have written to the Guardian ahead of a decision later this week on what goes into the Bill. They fear discussions about forcing large companies to do an equal pay audit will be diluted due to the economic downturn.
On average women earn £4,000 a year less than men, the letter says.
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London employers more flexible than national average

London employers are more likely to agree flexible working and working from home, according to a survey.
Research by Citrix Online shows 84% of London businesses offer flexible working, compared to 74% nationwide.
Some 64% offer working from home,compared to 55% nationwide.
They are also slightly more likely to support plans to extend flexible working to parents of older children.
London employers were also more likely to offer technology to help employees work away from home.
The survey included a poll of working parents and found that working mums valued the ability to work away from the office as their top perk.
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Europe's employees back flexible working

More than three quarters of Europe's employees would consider moving jobs to get more flexibility, a survey has found.
The report by Avaya, based on a survey of over 3,000 employees across Europe, found less than a fifth of companies offered all employees the ability to work flexibly on a regular basis.
Thirty per cent of senior managers said offering flexible working would allow them to compete better on the global stage.
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Child poverty rises

Many parents are still not earning enough to lift their families out of poverty, according to figures showing that the number of children living in poverty has risen.
This is despite targets set by the Government of halving child poverty by 2010.
Some 2.9 million children are living in povery according to national statistics released this week - up by 100,000 since 2005-6.
The Child Poverty Action Group said recent changes to tax credits had not yet had time to impact on the figures.
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Next generation broadband could aid remote working

The next generation of broadband could allow more people to work flexibly, according to a report by the Broadband Stakeholder Group.
The report claims Britain's economy could suffer if the next generation of broadband is not up and running in the UK in the next five years.
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