Bosses fear gender-pay attack

European employers are hoping that the European Commission will refrain from damning companies for discriminatory pay practices in a report to be published next week (18 June).

Despite out-performing their male counterparts academically, European women still get lower pay and fewer top jobs. Next week’s report will suggest ways in which member states can close the gap.

"In the past years, our members have made efforts to ensure there is no discrimination any more," said Jeanne Schmitt, policy adviser on social affairs at the employers’ lobby BusinessEurope. "I’m not saying nobody is discriminating, but I hope the Commission will treat statistics with more caution." BusinessEurope wants to see the Commission taking a more nuanced approach in its analysis of the causes of the gender pay gap, with differences between countries and sectors taken into account.

The question of unequal pay between men and women is hardly new. A number of high-profile campaigns at international and national level, however, have changed little. Statistics released last year to mark international women’s day showed that women earn on average 15% less than men and hold only one-third of managerial jobs despite attaining higher levels of education. According to European Commission figures from last year, 59% of graduates in the EU are women.

A Commission official said of next week’s communication: "It gives suggestions on what needs to be done. Part of the pay gap comes from the fact that more women work part-time than men. Women are often in lower-paid jobs than men. It highlights the issues."

BusinessEurope is eager to see a shift in ‘old-fashioned’ perceptions about where the blame lies. "A lot of the gap in aggregated EU data is biased in a way. When you look at figures at national and sectoral level, you can see the causes are complex," said Schmitt. "Our view is that we have to take action to close the gap, but we also have to have a closer look at what the gender pay gap actually is, that it [the Commission] takes into account labour market segregation in its analysis. The situation is different from sector to sector and from country to country."

BusinessEurope has worked with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), among other organisations, to create a framework for gender equality, which includes provisions on the pay gap. "The perception is not that discrimination is on the basis of gender, but more on other grounds," said Schmitt. "There is a problem of choice and opportunity which has an impact on pay levels, so we have also to work on these aspects."

Catelene Passchier, ETUC confederal secretary, agreed that direct gender discrimination by employers is a thing of the past. "I think that what we are converging on is that when you look at gender equality and pay gaps, unequal pay is not an issue in itself. It’s a thermometer of what is going wrong, but you can’t solve it by only looking at pay," she said.

Where ETUC continues to differ from employers on the issue is on the need for strengthened legal recourse for women bringing discrimination complaints. "There are several areas where you could ask whether more action is needed, for example in the judiciary," said Passchier. "There is the question of whether court procedures and equal opportunities bodies are sufficiently equipped, if sufficient regulations are in place and if additional measures are needed."

European employers are hoping that the European Commission will refrain from damning companies for discriminatory pay practices in a report to be published next week (18 June).