Closing the Gender Pay
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Closing the gender pay gap: A review of the issues, policy mechanisms and international evidence Closing the gender pay gap: A review of issues, policy mechanisms and international evidence Gender, Equality and Diversity ILO Branch CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP: A REVIEW OF THE ISSUES, POLICY MECHANISMS AND INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE JILL RUBERY* AND ARISTEA KOUKIADAKI** *Professor, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester **Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester’s School of Law International Labour Office • Geneva Copyright © International Labour Organization 2016 First published (2016) Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Licensing), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with a reproduction rights organization may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. Rubery, Jill; Koukiadaki, Aristea. Closing the gender pay gap: a review of the issues, policy mechanisms and international evidence / Jill Rubery, Aristea Koukiadaki; International Labour Office – Geneva: ILO, 2016. ISBN: 978-92-2-131295-6 (print) ISBN: 978-92-2-131296-3 (web pdf) International Labour Office. wage differential / women workers / equal pay / wage determination / equal employment / wage policy / employment policy 13.07 ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. ILO publications and digital products can be obtained through major booksellers and digital distribution platforms, or ordered directly from ilo@ turpin-distribution.com. For more information, visit our website: www.ilo.org/publns or contact [email protected]. This publication was produced by the Document and Publications Production, Printing and Distribution Branch (PRODOC) of the ILO. Graphic and typographic design, layout and composition, printing, electronic publishing and distribution. PRODOC endeavours to use paper sourced from forests managed in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner. Code: DTP-JMB-REPRO ii PREFACE Closing the gender pay gap is an aspiration found in many international policy documents. The principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, as set out in the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), needs to be implemented if gender equality and decent work for all is to be achieved. However, while the principle of equal pay for work of equal value has been widely endorsed, and is included under Goal 8 in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, a key problem is that the policy mechanisms needed to achieve this objective are not well understood and in fact are both multifaceted and vary according to the institutional context. Specific gender equality policies are certainly required, but these are only likely to be effective if embedded within a general policy environment which is promoting equal and inclusive labour markets. For example, trends towards greater inequality in wage structures, more individualised pay determination and more variable working hours in higher level jobs are likely to be increasing the gender pay gap, offsetting to some extent the more beneficial effects of women’s rising educational attainment and more continuous participation in employment. While the gender pay gap is difficult to measure, the ILO estimates that if the current trends prevail, it will take more than 70 years before the gender wage gap is closed completely (ILO 2016). This paper aspires to review key issues, policy mechanisms and international evidence with respect to closing the gender pay gap. Furthermore, as the gender wage gap is unrelated to a country’s economic development, research is needed to understand how an equitable distribution of economic growth can be achieved (ILO 2016). This working paper was commissioned by the Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch (GED) of the ILO in Geneva. It was written by Jill Rubery, Professor at the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester and Aristea Koukiadaki, Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester’s School of Law. It has benefited from the technical comments of various ILO experts. SHAUNA OLNEY Chief Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch International Labour Organization iii CONTENTS Preface ..................................................................... iii Executive summary........................................................... ix Abbreviations ............................................................... xiii List of tables ................................................................ viii List of figures................................................................ viii 1. Closing the gender pay gap: the contextual framework........................... 1 1.1. Introduction .......................................................... 1 1.2. The organisation of the report . 3 1.3. Towards gender equal, inclusive and transparent labour markets ................. 4 2. Legal mechanisms ......................................................... 11 2.1. Legal mechanisms for inclusive labour markets .............................. 11 2.1.1. Income inequality ................................................ 11 2.1.2. Inclusive coverage................................................ 18 2.2. Legal mechanisms for gender equal markets ................................. 22 2.2.1. International legal mechanisms ..................................... 22 2.2.2. National legal mechanisms ......................................... 26 2.3. Legal mechanisms for transparent labour markets............................. 32 2.3.1. International legal mechanisms ..................................... 33 2.3.2. National legal mechanisms ......................................... 33 2.4. Summary ............................................................ 35 3. Social dialogue and collective bargaining ...................................... 37 3.1. Evidence of the impact of trade unions and collective bargaining in closing the gender pay gap ..................................................... 37 v CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP: A REVIEW OF THE ISSUES, POLICY MECHANISMS AND INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE 3.2. Bargaining for inclusive labour markets .................................... 40 3.2.1. International level collective bargaining .............................. 40 3.2.2. National and sectoral level bargaining................................ 41 3.2.3. Company level bargaining ......................................... 52 3.3. Gender equality bargaining .............................................. 53 3.3.1. Supporting low paid women ........................................ 54 3.3.2. Revaluing women’s work........................................... 54 3.3.3. Work life balance and equality for NSFE .............................. 55 3.3.4. Pay audits and gender equality duties . 56 3.3.5. Gender bias in payment systems..................................... 57 3.3.6. Assisting women’s careers.......................................... 58 3.4. Transparency ......................................................... 58 3.5. Summary ............................................................ 59 4. Voluntary actions to close the gender pay gap .................................. 61 4.1. Voluntary actions for inclusive labour markets ............................... 61 4.1.1. International measures; pressure across borders ........................ 61 4.1.2. National and local measures........................................ 62 4.2. Voluntary action for gender pay equity ..................................... 63 4.2.1. International voluntary action ...................................... 63 4.2.2. National and local measures........................................ 63 4.3. Voluntary action and transparency ......................................... 68 4.4. Summary ............................................................ 69 5. Social policy and support for closing the gender pay gap . 71 5.1. Gender-specific social policy ............................................. 71 5.1.1. Overview of gender-specific social policy mechanisms ................... 71 5.1.2. Impact of leave provision .......................................... 73 5.1.3. Impact of childcare ..............................................