Pay gap between women and men

EESC opinion: Pay gap between women and men

Key points

The Committee

  • welcomes the Commission's political resolve to continue to fight against the pay gap between women and men;
  • finds that Member States should focus their efforts on tackling the causes of pay differentials, which are related to the fact that men's and women's work are valued differently and that there is a division of labour in the labour market based on gender;
  • suggests that employers should make annual checks and reviews of wages to identify the problems of gender discrimination in job classification systems and establish an equal opportunities plan;
  • points out that there should be transparency when it comes to provisions on notification and consultation of employees and their representatives on the pay and pay trends of women and men within same organisation;
  • underlines that children and young people of both sexes should be provided with good models which encourage the take-up of non-traditional jobs;
  • finds that paid parental leave for both parents should be introduced in countries where it does not exist and that well-developed and subsidised childcare facilities should be developed, enabling parents to continue working with shorter career breaks;
  • call on Member States to ensure that information on the causes of gender pay differentials is disseminated to all stakeholders;
  • expects government institutions and political leaders in Member States to set a good example through their practices and conduct in implementing the principles discussed in the opinion.