SOCIAL REGULATION OF THE GENDER PAY GAP IN THE EU

International audienceAlthough there has been more than thirty years of equal pay legislation in the European Union the gap between male and female earnings has remained remarkably resilient and is present across all Member States regardless of Member State institutional arrangements. The European regulatory landscape has changed to one relying heavily on soft law approaches and with more limited ambitions in the field of gender equality than at the creation of the European Employment Strategy. In this environment the European Commission has placed greater emphasis on the role of social partners in addressing the gender pay gap. This paper critically reviews the role of these social partners in addressing pay inequalities