Equal pay – Pay attention to the gap.

The principle of “equal pay for equal work” was already recognized in the European Community with the Treaty of Rome in 1957 (Article 119). The seemingly limited scope of this principle was restored with Directive 75/117/EEC, which explicitly refers to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. That is, remuneration terms cannot introduce discrimination based on gender when performing work of equal value.

In the 1990s, further developments were observed in European policy. The Amsterdam Treaty includes in Article 141 a provision that prohibits discrimination in pay between men and women for equal work. In 1994 and 1996, the European Commission also issued a memorandum and a code of conduct for this principle. The code is primarily addressed to the negotiators of the wage-setting system and aims to assist them in shaping gender-neutral pay systems and identifying any discrimination in wage systems.

Therefore, in the EU, discrimination in pay based on gender is prohibited by law. This means that in cases where a woman takes on work that is equally demanding as that of the opposite gender, even if the work is different, she must receive the same pay and benefits, unless there is an explanation for the difference that does not constitute discrimination.

Nevertheless, in practice, there continues to be a gap between the pay of men and women. Despite the legal standing of equal pay for equal work of equal value, in practice, equal value is not always attributed to the work of men and women. Thus, the unequal pay arises purely as a result of a gender pay gap.

The problem is exacerbated by occupational segregation – that is, the fact that women are primarily employed in sectors where the work has traditionally been considered of lower value. Two other factors contribute to this. First, many more men are employed in the private sector as opposed to the public sector, while women are more equally distributed between the two sectors. Second, a much larger percentage of women are part-time workers. In both cases, women are at a disadvantage in terms of pay levels.

In addition to the 1975 directive and the rulings of the European Court of Justice, the only positive initiatives at the European level specifically aimed at overcoming the gender pay gap were the Codes of Conduct by the Commission and social partners, as well as similar codes introduced by equality institutes in certain Member States. However, the Codes of Conduct do not appear to have had a significant impact on practices or pay levels.

The goal of having women make up 60% of the active workforce, as decided at the Lisbon summit in 2000, will be meaningless if the majority of these women are employed in undervalued jobs with lower pay.

Due to the lack of significant progress, I believe the time has come for the 1975 Directive to be made stricter. What must be ensured is that men’s work will no longer be the standard by which women’s work is measured.

Another approach to solving the problem, either through the revision of the 1975 Directive or with direct involvement of the social partners, is to focus efforts on narrowing the pay gap through collective bargaining processes.

Finally, I must emphasize the great importance of the recent revision, with the substantial contribution of the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights, of Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment of men and women regarding access to employment and vocational training, which will help address the issue of equal pay as well.