National frameworks and the gender pay gap in Italy, Poland and the UK: Comparing oranges with apples?

Conley, Hazel; Mattei, Alberto; Torbus, Uszula; Joanna, Nowakowska-Ma?usecka

Abstract

This chapter considers the legal, economic and industrial relations context with reference to the three countries on which the research focuses: Italy, Poland and the UK. As the title of the chapter suggests, drawing on Locke and Thelen’s
(1995) seminal article, we adopt a ‘contextualised comparisons’ approach to our analysis to establish how EU law on pay equality is refracted through different institutional settings. We further use the concept of functional equivalence to
identify the specific issues and pressure points that have been instrumental in conceptualising and attempting to achieve equal pay and close the gender pay gap (GPG) in each country. However, to aid a more direct, ‘matched comparison’
and to provide contextual information important for later chapters in the book, we structure our analysis of each country under common headings covering the basic regulatory framework, case law, wage system and tax and social security frameworks as they impact on pay equality.

• Online Publication Date: Dec 6, 2018
• Publication Date: Jan 10, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Series Title: Routledge Research in Employment Relations
• Book Title: The Gender Pay Gap and Social Prtnership in Europe: Findings from "Close the Deal, Fill the Gap"
• ISBN: 9781138738508
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/854148
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/The-Gender-Pay-Gap-and-Social-Partnership-in-Europe-Findings-from-Close/Conley-Gottardi-Healy-Mikolajczyk-Peruzzi/p/book/9781138738508