Equal pay legislation has been on the statute book since May 1970 in the form of the Equal Pay Act, due to be fully effective at the end of 1975. In an earlier article the authors discussed problems to be expected in implementing the Equal Pay Act with particular reference to retail distribution. The present article first examines progress toward equal pay on the basis of recent statistics covering basic wage rates and earnings in a wide range of industries and occupations in Britain. Secondly it considers implications of further proposals to raise the status of women through measures intended “to make it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex … in a wide range of activities and situations”, including employment. Finally, in the light of procedures and machinery designed for the enforcement of anti‐discrimination laws, it questions whether the two objectives of equal pay and equal opportunity for women are entirely consistent.