Dagenham's equal pay strikers win 'Women of the Year' award They got up from their sewing machines and walked out on strike more than forty years ago, but today the Dagenham women machinists who fought for equal pay were awarded the "Good Housekeeping" Women of the Year Outstanding Achievement Award. Vera Sime, 83, Eileen Pullen, 84, Gwen Davis, 81, Sheila Douglass, 77, Dora Challingsworth, 74, Pamela Brown, 59, Sarah Kavia, 60, and Bharti Patel, 64 were pictured with Lorraine Kelly yesterday. Ms Pullen said: "When we were going out on strike, we had no idea of the impact it would have in years to come."