Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter

A small step towards gender equality in pay

Kalina Arabadjieva 26th March 2021

The European Commission’s proposal to reduce the stubborn gender pay gap pulls some punches, apparently anticipating employer resistance.

gender equality in pay,gender pay gap
Kalina Arabadjieva

Earlier this month, the European Commission published its long-awaited proposal for a directive to strengthen application of the principle of equal pay between men and women for equal work or for work of equal value.

The proposal contains various measures to ensure greater transparency in pay. It would also enhance enforcement of the existing framework, through equal-pay claims by workers and by state bodies. It is undoubtedly a much-needed step in the right direction—but it does not go far enough.

The commission’s attempt to address employer concerns about the introduction of this legislation during the Covid-19 crisis has led to significant omissions and limitations. In particular, important obligations to report and address pay gaps would be confined to employers with 250 workers or more. It also does nothing to promote collective bargaining on equal pay. Many workers—including some of the most precarious—would thus not benefit from the proposed changes.

Removing barriers

The proposal responds to identified barriers to the realisation of the EU legal framework on equal pay, set out in the gender-equality directive (2006/54/EU). This prohibits discrimination based on sex with respect to pay, for the same work or for work of equal value, and requires that job-classification systems be gender-neutral. The main barriers to implementation are lack of clarity over ‘work of equal value’, lack of transparency in pay structures and procedural obstacles.

Our job is keeping you informed!


Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay up to date with the latest Social Europe content.


We will never send you spam and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Thank you!

Please check your inbox and click on the link in the confirmation email to complete your newsletter subscription.

.

The proposal contains measures which, if adopted, will make it easier for workers to bring an equal-pay claim against their employer. It offers some more clarity on ‘work of equal value’, for instance.

It provides also for hypothetical comparison, which will assist workers—generally women—in highly gender-segregated workplaces to bring an equal-pay claim. Workers will be able to request information on pay levels, broken down by sex, which will enable them to identify and prove a breach of the law.

The proposal contains robust measures to address procedural barriers, such as ensuring that workers can obtain sufficient compensation and adducing additional circumstances in which the burden of proof shifts to the employer. Importantly, it provides that equality bodies and workers’ representatives must be able to bring claims on behalf of a worker or group of workers.

Systemic solutions

There are also provisions regarding equality bodies—which must be adequately resourced—and the designation of a new monitoring body to raise awareness of the principle of equal pay, collect data and tackle the gender-pay gap. It strengthens provisions on penalties, such as fines, to be applied by state authorities for breaches of the legislation.

This is important, since enforcement through worker claims is not sufficient to address systemic problems, such as pay discrimination and gender bias in pay structures. Even a successful claim applies only to that employer and may not affect that employer’s entire workforce, which results in fragmented patterns of enforcement.


We need your support


Social Europe is an independent publisher and we believe in freely available content. For this model to be sustainable, however, we depend on the solidarity of our readers. Become a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month and help us produce more articles, podcasts and videos. Thank you very much for your support!

Become a Social Europe Member

Furthermore, workers might not be able and willing to bring a claim against their employer for a range of other reasons. They may not be aware of their rights, fear retaliation by employers or feel uncomfortable about state institutions and formal proceedings—especially vulnerable and precarious workers.

Employer obligations

A positive development in this regard is the requirement that employers report on pay gaps between men and women in their organisation as a whole—with this to be made public—and on gaps by category of workers. Where a gap of more than 5 per cent is identified, employers must conduct a joint pay assessment with workers’ representatives. Among other things, this assessment must identify measures to address pay differences.

These measures would make it easier for others to identify differences based on gender, but also prompt employers themselves to assess their pay schemes and to eliminate discrimination and gender bias in a structural manner. Such issues must be addressed in respect of the whole organisation, without putting the onus on workers to take action.

Unfortunately, these obligations exclude all small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for about two-thirds of employment in the EU. This limitation is clearly related to the concern expressed in the proposal that new measures may impose additional burdens on businesses.

Yet the commission estimates the cost of reporting to be between €379 and €890 per employer, depending on size, and between €1,180 and €2,266 EUR for assessments. These amounts are significantly lower for subsequent years. They do not justify such broad exemptions, which will significantly limit the impact of the proposed rules.

Collective bargaining

It is a serious weakness in the proposal that it does not contain specific provisions to promote collective bargaining on equal pay. It says the provisions of the directive are to be discussed with the social partners but it is unclear what that means. This contrasts with the commission recommendation on pay transparency from 2014, which provided that equal pay should be discussed at the appropriate level of collective bargaining.

Collective agreements have been shown to be beneficial in reducing pay inequalities, such as through securing increases for low-paid, female-dominated positions and gender-neutral job-classification and promotion criteria. They can tackle pay inequalities in a systemic, structural way and their impact can extend to the enterprise, sectoral or even national level.

Collective bargaining on equal pay, therefore, has the potential to benefit a much wider circle of workers than an equal-pay claim, including those unable or unwilling to bring one.

There are also other gaps in the proposal. For example, there is only very limited exemption from pay-secrecy clauses and employers will often be able to prevent workers from sharing information requested on pay. And reporting obligations relate to pay gaps but not to average pay for men and women.

Anticipating resistance

On the whole, there is more emphasis on strengthening enforcement than on ensuring the transparency in pay, across all organisations, necessary to identify and eliminate discrimination and gender-biased pay structures. The commission has, presumably, adopted this strategy anticipating resistance to adoption of the legislation, particularly by employers.

But this is an opportunity to put in place a framework which can tackle these issues comprehensively and systematically, benefiting all workers. The gaps must therefore be addressed in the process that is to follow. The proposal may be a step forward but workers, and women, deserve more—to be paid fairly for the work they do, regardless of their sex.

Kalina Arabadjieva

Kalina Arabadjieva is a researcher at the European Trade Union Institute, with a PhD in labour law. She is working on gender equality and the just transition.

Home ・ Society ・ A small step towards gender equality in pay

Most Popular Posts

schools,Sweden,Swedish,voucher,choice Sweden’s schools: Milton Friedman’s wet dreamLisa Pelling
world order,Russia,China,Europe,United States,US The coming world orderMarc Saxer
south working,remote work ‘South working’: the future of remote workAntonio Aloisi and Luisa Corazza
Russia,Putin,assets,oligarchs Seizing the assets of Russian oligarchsBranko Milanovic
Russians,support,war,Ukraine Why do Russians support the war against Ukraine?Svetlana Erpyleva

Most Recent Posts

trade,values,Russia,Ukraine,globalisation Peace and trade—a new perspectiveGustav Horn
biodiversity,COP15,China,climate COP15: negotiations must come out of the shadowsSandrine Maljean-Dubois
reproductive rights,abortion,hungary,eastern europe,united states,us,poland The uneven battlefield of reproductive rightsAndrea Pető
LNG,EIB,liquefied natural gas,European Investment Bank Ukraine is no reason to invest in gasXavier Sol
schools,Sweden,Swedish,voucher,choice Sweden’s schools: Milton Friedman’s wet dreamLisa Pelling

Other Social Europe Publications

The transatlantic relationship
Women and the coronavirus crisis
RE No. 12: Why No Economic Democracy in Sweden?
US election 2020
Corporate taxation in a globalised era

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

Towards a new Minimum Wage Policy in Germany and Europe: WSI minimum wage report 2022

The past year has seen a much higher political profile for the issue of minimum wages, not only in Germany, which has seen fresh initiatives to tackle low pay, but also in those many other countries in Europe that have embarked on substantial and sustained increases in statutory minimum wages. One key benchmark in determining what should count as an adequate minimum wage is the threshold of 60 per cent of the median wage, a ratio that has also played a role in the European Commission's proposals for an EU-level policy on minimum wages. This year's WSI Minimum Wage Report highlights the feasibility of achieving minimum wages that meet this criterion, given the political will. And with an increase to 12 euro per hour planned for autumn 2022, Germany might now find itself promoted from laggard to minimum-wage trailblazer.


FREE DOWNLOAD

ETUI advertisement

Bilan social / Social policy in the EU: state of play 2021 and perspectives

The new edition of the Bilan social 2021, co-produced by the European Social Observatory (OSE) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), reveals that while EU social policy-making took a blow in 2020, 2021 was guided by the re-emerging social aspirations of the European Commission and the launch of several important initiatives. Against the background of Covid-19, climate change and the debate on the future of Europe, the French presidency of the Council of the EU and the von der Leyen commission must now be closely scrutinised by EU citizens and social stakeholders.


AVAILABLE HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Living and working in Europe 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to be a defining force in 2021, and Eurofound continued its work of examining and recording the many and diverse impacts across the EU. Living and working in Europe 2021 provides a snapshot of the changes to employment, work and living conditions in Europe. It also summarises the agency’s findings on issues such as gender equality in employment, wealth inequality and labour shortages. These will have a significant bearing on recovery from the pandemic, resilience in the face of the war in Ukraine and a successful transition to a green and digital future.


AVAILABLE HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

EU Care Atlas: a new interactive data map showing how care deficits affect the gender earnings gap in the EU

Browse through the EU Care Atlas, a new interactive data map to help uncover what the statistics are often hiding: how care deficits directly feed into the gender earnings gap.

While attention is often focused on the gender pay gap (13%), the EU Care Atlas brings to light the more worrisome and complex picture of women’s economic inequalities. The pay gap is just one of three main elements that explain the overall earnings gap, which is estimated at 36.7%. The EU Care Atlas illustrates the urgent need to look beyond the pay gap and understand the interplay between the overall earnings gap and care imbalances.


BROWSE THROUGH THE MAP

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us on social media

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube