The Gender Pay Gap and Social Partnership in Europe. Findings from “Close the Deal, Fill the Gap”

The gender pay gap (GPG) exists in every European country, but it varies considerably, even in EU member states covered by the same legal principles on pay equality. Part of the variation can be explained by different patterns of social partnership. With current policy pressure to de-centralise collective bargaining and increase the percentage of pay linked to productivity, what role can social partnership play in tackling the GPG?

Reporting on the findings of the European Commission funded research project Close the Deal, Fill the Gap, this book uses an interdisciplinary analysis involving legal, economic, and sociological expertise, to explore the role of social partnership in GPG in Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom (UK). Selected on the basis of their contrasting profiles in terms of legal regulation, industrial relations, systems of collective bargaining, coverage of collective agreements, and differing rates of the GPG, the in-depth study provides important insights into the main issues underlying the problem of reducing the gender pay gap which have led to guidelines in the negotiation of arrangements on GPG-related issues.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction | Hazel Conley, Geraldine Healy, Donata Gottardi, Barbara Mikołajczyk & Marco Peruzzi
• National frameworks and the gender pay gap in Italy, Poland and the UK: Comparing oranges with apples? | Hazel Conley, Alberto Mattei, Urszula Torbus & Joanna Nowakowska-Małusecka
• Decentralisation and the gender pay gap in the Italian context | Donata Favaro, Donata Gottardi, Nicoletta Masiero, Alberto Mattei & Marco Peruzzi
• Decentralisation and the gender pay gap in the Polish context | Mirosław Czerwiński & Ilona Topa
• Decentralisation and the gender pay gap in the UK context | Hazel Conley, Geraldine Healy, Pedro Martins & Stella Warren
• Avoiding gender bias | Geraldine Healy, Marco Peruzzi & Magdalena Półtorak
• Transparency and the gender pay gap | Hazel Conley, Urszula Torbus
• Conclusions | Hazel Conley, Donata Gottardi, Geraldine Healy, Barbara Mikołajczyk & Marco Peruzzi