Equal pay legislation and its impact on the gender pay gap
| Author | Sam Middlemiss,Laura Gow |
| DOI | 10.1177/1358229112440442 |
| Published date | 01 December 2011 |
| Date | 01 December 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Equal pay legislation
and its impact on the
gender pay gap
Laura Gow and Sam Middlemiss
Abstract
Equal pay legislation has been in existence for over 40 years in the UK and the legal
rules dealing with equal pay have been consolidated and amended recently with the
implementation of the Equality Act 2010. However, despite this, problems can still be
identified with equal pay in the UK, most notably the continued existence of a sizeable
gender pay gap. This article will outline the current legal rules on equal pay and analyse
their effectiveness in addressing the issue of the gender pay gap. It is clear that a
problem such as the gender pay gap is often caused in society by deeply held stereo-
typical, discriminatory views and in employment by employers (and some employees)
with institutionalised discriminatory attitudes and behaviour. These causes of the gender
pay gap militate against it being tackled solely by the law (specifically equality legislation).
In this article we will undertake a comprehensive analysis of the topic and establish to
what extent the current law can facilitate the necessary changes to eradicate this gap. In
areas where it is not sufficiently robust to do this we will analyse what further changes
are required through adjustments in the legal rules in t he UK. Clearly, much is to be
gained from eradicating the gender pay gap. However, there are a number of obstacles
to achieving this, which are considered.
Keywords
equal, law, impact, pay, gap
Robert Gordon University, UK
Corresponding author:
Sam Middlemiss, Department of Law, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen Business School,
Garthdee Road, Aberdeen, AB10 7QE, UK
Email: s.middlemiss@rgu.ac.uk
International Journalof
Discrimination and theLaw
11(4) 164–186
ªThe Author(s) 2011
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1358229112440442
jdi.sagepub.com
Introduction
Progress towards removal of the gender pay gap since the introduction of equal pay
legislation in the form of the Equal Pay Act 1970 has been reasonably slow, and this lack
of progress has been widely reported in the media with recent headlines noting that
efforts to remove the gender pay gap are ‘grinding to a halt’
2
and that ‘equal pay for
women is not likely until 2067’.
3
The main aim of the Equality Act 2010 was to simplify and harmonise the existing
equality legislation. It was seen by the promoters of the legislation, the previous govern-
ment, as an opportunity to bring in new provisions to help tackle inequality of pay and
narrow the gender pay gap.
4
The broad objective of the Act in respect of equal pay is
that: ‘The Act’s provisions on equal pay and sex discrimination are intended to ensure
that pay and other employment terms are determined without sex discrimination or
bias.’
5
However, there has already been criticism of the Act, specifically relating to the lim-
ited changes that it brought to the previous law and the various measures that it intro-
duced to deal with the gender pay gap that have been removed or had their operation
suspended.
6
The following quote identifies other areas where the Equality Act 2010 is lacking:
The JCHR
7
was critical of the failure of the Government to make significant changes to the
existing provisions on equal pay, pointing out ...that the Bill does not establish new pro-
cedures for providing arbitration in equal pay disputes nor does it impose positive duties on
employers to take steps to monitor and respond to patterns of pay inequality.
8
The shortcomings of the legislation will be analysed later in the article; however, what
follows is an analysis of the reasons for the gender pay gap and the statistical evidence of
its nature and impact.
Analysing the reasons for the gender pay gap
A common explanation for inequalities between men and women in the workplace is the
sexual division of labour. This can be seen operating in society when, traditionally, men
were considered to have the right to be in employment while women were expected to
refrain from working and remain in the home.
9
It became a common perception that the
most practical thing for a woman to do was not go to work and stay at home and look
after her children.
10
Another traditional view was that certain jobs were for men or
women solely and that women should not do a ‘man’s job’ and vice versa. This is known
as occupational segregation.
11
These ideas are firmly rooted in tradition and could easily
be seen as outdated and irrelevant in modern working life. However, they are still having
an impact upon equality and, more specifically, equal pay and the gender pay gap.
12
Clearly, the sexual division of labour is less relevant today and the position of women
in employment has improved, judging by the current figures for female employment in
the UK.
13
These figures show that there is currently a record number of women
employed in the UK and the rate has steadily risen over the years. In 2008 there were
Gow and Middlemiss 165
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