Made in Dagenham

I saw this film September 2nd of 2010 in Indianapolis. I am one of the judges for the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture “…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life.” Heartland gave that award to this film.

In 1968 in Dagenham, England, a small number of women went on strike against Ford. The workers at the huge Ford finishing plant were overwhelmingly male. These women were striking for two reasons. First, their jobs were re-classified from semi-skilled to unskilled. Second, regardless of the job classification, they simply made a substantial percentage less than men whose positions were graded the same.

No one was on their side – not the Ford management (obviously), not the male-dominated union leadership, not their husbands and significant others, and not the government. And, these women were workers, not labor activists. They were truly amateurs.

They persevered and struggled. They showed daring and restraint – they showed courage and fear – they showed strength and weakness – they sacrificed and were oh so human in their once-in-a-lifetime chance to try to make a difference.

The story is told simply without tricks. But the story is interesting and matters because you slowly begin to care for the characters and you want things to end right.

We know today that women have a legal right to earn equal pay for equal work. You have to watch this movie to see if the women of Dagenham obtained that right.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.