Ghosts in the Machine
Ghosts in the Machine Photography
In the United Kingdom, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 made it unlawful for an individual to be discriminated against in the workplace in relation to their gender. This act clarifies the Equal Pay Act of 1970, which was ambiguous enough for employers to find loopholes to avoid paying women a fair wage for equal work. These images capture the Motherhood Penalty, a concept now enshrined in the 2023 Nobel-prize winning work for Economics of Harvard University professor Claudia Goldin.
My analogue photographic practice is concerned with the relationship between time, memory and experience. In an image devoid of cars or technology, the protests continue to highlight the same issues over which our mothers and grandmothers took to the streets: fairness, equality and opportunity.
It’s challenging to be an activist, a feminist, an educator, while looking after your child at the same time. It is encouraging that mothers and carers advocate in the here and now, and set a standard for taking up space, for engaging in these acts of care, and resilience. This archive exists for them.
