EU: Commission plans to tackle the gender pay gap

It is 50 years since the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (the Treaty of Rome) was signed, enshrining the principle of equal pay for equal work for male and female workers. It is 32 years since the adoption of the Directive (75/117/EEC) on the application of the principle of equal pay for women and men. Over the past decade, reducing the gender pay gap has been one of the objectives of the EU growth and jobs strategy.

The European Commission argues that the gender pay gap "reflects ongoing discrimination and inequality in the labour market which, in practice, mainly affects women". It "extends well beyond the question of equal pay for equal work" and one of the main causes is "the way women's competences are valued compared to men's". Jobs requiring similar qualifications or experience tend to be paid less when they are dominated by women, the communication states. For example, in some countries nannies earn less than car mechanics, supermarket cashiers less than warehouse workers, or nurses less than police officers.

The pay gap also, the commission says, reflects inequalities on the labour market mainly affecting women, and in particular difficulties in reconciling work with private life. Women have greater recourse to part-time work and more frequent career breaks, which have a negative impact on their professional development. They "still lag behind men when it comes to holding managerial positions and they encounter more obstacles and resistance as they proceed along their career paths". As a consequence, women's career paths are "more often interrupted, slower and shorter, and hence less well paid than men's".

To tackle the issue, the communication identifies four fields of action:

• ensuring better application of existing legislation, analysing how current laws could be adapted and raising awareness;
  
• fighting the pay gap as an integral part of member states' employment policies, exploiting the full potential of EU funding, in particular the European Social Fund;
  
• promoting equal pay among employers, especially through corporate social responsibility initiatives; and
  
• supporting exchanges of good practice across the EU and involving the social partners.

On the legislative front, the commission will:

The EU growth and jobs strategy can, in the commission's view, be used more fully to tackle the gender pay gap. To this end, the commission will:

Employers have a "key role to play in eliminating unjustified pay inequalities", the commission argues. They have a responsibility to comply with the relevant legislation on the subject and it is also "in their interests to act responsibly in order to promote equality between women and men within their organisations". The commission notes that there is still a pay gap among employees in the public administration in the EU member states.

Several member states have introduced measures at national level to reduce the pay gap, the communication notes. These include: legislative measures to promote equal pay, for example encouraging or requiring companies to examine and remedy unjustified discrepancies in pay between their staff; active gender equality policies that seek to eliminate structural inequality in the workplace; and wage policies designed to raise the profile of poorly paid occupations.

The communication concludes that the persistence of the gender pay gap is "a sign that women continue to be affected by direct and indirect discrimination and inequalities in the labour market, but also prevents the working potential of women being properly fulfilled and the achievement of the objectives" of the growth and jobs strategy.

The commission sees it as "necessary, above all, to improve the capacity to analyse this phenomenon, which remains complex and poorly understood". This should allow the identification of possible ways of dealing with the problem in a targeted manner, and of "possible improvements to the existing legal framework likely to lead to a significant reduction in the pay gap".

The commission wants its communication to "give a new impetus to the fight against the pay gap" and demonstrate its "full commitment to put in place all the measures necessary with the aim of reducing unjustified differences in pay between women and men". In this effort, the commission is seeking the "active support of all stakeholders, especially the member states and the social partners".

"Girls outperform boys at school and more women enter the labour market with a university degree than men, but a pay gap of 15% persists. This is an absurd situation and needs to change," says Vladimír Špidla, the commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities. "The pay gap is a complex issue with multiple causes. Sometimes we see pure discrimination. But often reasons are hidden: women do more unpaid work, like taking care of the household and dependants; more women work part time and often the women-dominated sectors are on a lower pay scale. We must shift up a gear now. The only way to succeed is by getting men and women, non-governmental organisations, social partners and governments on board to tackle the problem at all levels."

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomed the communication and its approach of improving the legal framework and its implementation, stepping up action in the framework of the EU employment strategy, encouraging employers and public authorities to play a stronger role in eliminating unequal pay, and supporting exchange of good practice. However, Catelene Passchier, an ETUC confederal secretary, says: "We would like to see some more concrete measures, including the reintroduction of a specific target and timetable on the elimination of the pay gap in the [EU employment strategy]."

She added: "We are also very concerned about growing wage inequalities around Europe, especially in areas and jobs not covered by collective bargaining, and would like to see more explicit support for collective bargaining as an important tool to strengthen the position of women in the workplace and the labour market. Particular initiatives must be taken to address the wage penalties apparently linked to working part time, which means an evaluation of the [part-time work] Directive prescribing equal treatment between full-time and part-time workers."