CONFERENCE ON EQUAL PAY FOR WORK OF EQUAL VALUE
(Hong Kong, 18 March 2000)

EQUAL PAY FOR WORK OF EQUAL VALUE

An International Perspective

Presentation Notes

Constance Thomas
Coordinator
Equality and Employment Branch
International Labour Standards Department
International Labour Office
Geneva, Switzerland

EQUAL REMUNERATION
for
WORK OF EQUAL VALUE :

An international perspective

Governments, employers, employees, trade unions and women organizations are called upon to implement and enforce laws and regulations and encourage voluntary codes of conduct that ensure that international labour standards such as International Labour Organisation Convention No. 100 on equal pay and workers rights, apply equally to female and male workers.  
Paragraph 178 of the Beijing Platform

I.	Introduction

Since its foundation in 1919, the ILO has concerned itself with securing the right of men and women workers to equal remuneration for work of equal value.  The original text of the ILO Constitution recognized this principle to be of special and urgent importance The principle has been reaffirmed throughout the years by virtue of its incorporation into ILO Convention No. 100 on Equal Remuneration, adopted in 1951, and into the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted in 1979. The Copenhagen Programme of Action and the Beijing Platform for Action stressed the continued relevance and fundamental nature of the principle and both called on all States to ratify and apply Convention No. 100. Most recently, its reaffirmation is found in its inclusion as one of the fundamental labour conventions underlying the salient principles expressed in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-Up.

Despite the continued affirmation of its relevance and significance as a basic right to which both men and women should be entitled in every society regardless of its level of development, full appreciation, understanding and application of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value remains elusive. Equal pay for work of equal value for men and women is a very complex issue cutting across                 labour relations, wage fixing, human resource development and human rights.  It is a problem that concerns all actors and systems of labour relations and all the means of labour regulation (international treaty law, statutory law, regulations, jurisprudence, and collective bargaining).

One observable stumbling block, among several, encountered along the path towards full application of the Convention is that for many people, the notion of equal pay implies that men and women should receive equal pay only when they have the same qualifications and experience and when they are performing the very same work under the same conditions. In fact, this narrow concept of equal pay has been outdated since the end of World War II. If the equal pay principle was defined in such a way, its application would be extremely limited since few people perform the same work, and men and women perform, to a considerable extent, very different jobs.  In fact, the drafters of the Convention, while noting the difficulty associated with the application of equal value never shied away from insisting on its use as the guiding principle. 

Another critical position taken is that the use of methodologies to promote equal pay between men and women constitutes interference in the labour market thus creating inefficiencies. This position asserts that the labour market ought to be able to operate unfettered by wage regulation.  It further views the use of valuation methodologies to equalize pay between men and women as a substitute for pay determination by market forces, thus artificially skewing pay levels.  This position assumes that the goal of efficiency of the labour market is to be pursued at all costs.  It also assumes that pay differential between men and women is due only to factors outside the labour market which once addressed would lead to an eventual closing of the gap.  Hence no intervention is required.  This position of course ignores the presence of discrimination within labour markets.  It also ignores the need to establish a framework of universally agreed fundamental human rights within which labour markets should operate.  

A third obstacle to the application of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value is the cost factor.   Undertaking studies, carrying out wage evaluation exercises and taking steps to equalize wage levels cost time and money. While there is no denying this, there is a high cost in perpetuating discriminatory practices against women in the labour market.   
  
The drafters of Convention No. 100 anticipated that it would take time, effort, a change in attitude towards the role of women   in society, the undertaking of comprehensive measures to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, and the development of equitable wage policies and systems before full application of the equal pay principle could be achieved. Thus the notion of a comprehensive approach and gradual application was included in the accompanying Recommendation No. 90.  

This having been said, it must also be emphasized that progress in the application of the principle has been marked and countries are increasingly taking initiatives in this direction. Some of the recent developments that have been noted by the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of International Conventions and Recommendations are provided in this paper.

With this in mind this paper addresses three main points:
��	Examination of the concept of equal remuneration for work of equal value as set out in convention No. 100;
��	A brief situational analysis of pay inequality between men and women worldwide; and
��	Approaches and challenges to the application of equal pay for work of equal value.

   Emphasis will be placed on the first and third points as the situation of pay inequality in Hong Kong and a few designated other countries will be addressed by others in the Conference.

II:	Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)

In 1951, the Constitutional principle was made operational when the International Labour Conference adopted the Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100) and its supplementary Recommendation (No. 90). It is a measure of its international acceptance that, as of February 2000, 143 Member States out of the total membership of 175 have ratified Convention No. 100. It is the second most highly ratified international labour standard. All of the ILO member States in the Asia and Pacific Region, including China, have ratified the Convention, with the exception of Fiji, Lao People Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and Solomon Islands.     It has also been applied to Macao but not to Hong Kong.
 
During the preparation of the Convention and its Recommendation, the International Labour Conference (33rd Session, Geneva, 1950) recognized that there are multiple and complex links between the principle of equal remuneration and the position and status of men and women more generally in employment and society.  These considerations led the Conference to propose a series of measures in Recommendation No. 90 to facilitate application of the principle of Convention No. 100. (See paragraph 6 of Recommendation No. 90.)  Thus, social policies intended to facilitate application of the principle of equal remuneration should include measures aimed at ensuring that men and women workers have equal or equivalent facilities for vocational guidance, training and placement, equal access to jobs and occupations and welfare and social services designed to meet the needs of women workers, particularly those with family responsibilities.  These broader objectives implied in application of the principle of the Convention have subsequently been incorporated into other ILO instruments such as the Convention on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), 1958 (No. 111) and the Convention on Workers with Family Responsibilities, 1981 (No. 156).

A.	Definitions

1.	Article 1(a) of the Convention defines remuneration as including the Convention the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary and any additional emoluments whatsoever payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker employment. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (hereafter, the Committee) has noted that this definition, which is couched in the broadest possible terms, seeks to ensure that equality is not limited to the basic or ordinary wage.  (See General Survey on Equal Remuneration, ILO, 1986, at paragraph 14).  

Additional payments and fringe benefits such as uniforms, housing, travel allowances, and dependency allowances are included in the definition of remuneration; it is often in these areas where pay differentials based on sex are identified between men and women.  

This is not to say that all payments between men and women must be the same - for to demand this degree of equality would indeed create inefficiencies in pay structures beyond that called for in the application of the human right of gender equality. The principle of equal pay is not called into question by the practice of paying merit bonuses or special supplements to reward seniority, productivity, or any other additional benefits as long as the criteria for paying these various bonuses and supplements is not based directly or indirectly on the gender of who is entitled to receive them.  In this regard, it is worth signaling that there are cases in which the above criteria can be a source of discrimination. For example, where only women’s pay is linked to productivity or output. Also basing remuneration on seniority can be a source of indirect discrimination, especially when it plays a major role in wage-fixing, as women are far more subject than men to career interruptions for family reasons. In those countries where pay levels are linked closely to seniority, the Committee of Experts has suggested that consideration might be given to allowing women a seniority credit for time taken out of the work force to care for family members. At a minimum, seniority levels should not be lost for taking maternity or family leave. 

2.	Article 1(b) of the Convention provides that the term equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value refers to rates of remuneration established without discrimination based on sex.  Value, while not defined specifically in the Convention, refers to the worth of the job for purposes of computing wages. The Convention does not limit application of the concept of equal value to implementation through the methodology of comparable worth, but it certainly indicates that something other than market forces should be used to ensure application of the principle.  As detailed later in the paper, it suggests that job appraisals should be used to determine valuation where deemed useful.  While job appraisal systems are still a common feature of wage setting, other bases for the calculation of wages including minimum wages, productivity pay, and new competency based wage systems are covered by the Convention.   

B.	Requirements of a Ratifying Government Obligation to Apply the Principle 

Article 2(1) of the Convention provides that each ratifying State “shall, by means appropriate to the methods in operation for determining rates of remuneration, promote, and in so far as is consistent with such methods, ensure the application to all workers of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value”. The scope of coverage extends to all workers.  The measures required by a Government to meet its obligation are flexible and are dependent on what methods are already in operation for determining wages or remuneration.  

1.	The Government Obligation to Ensure Application of the Principle:

The Government has the obligation to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration where:
(a)	it is the employer or otherwise controls the employer;  or
(b)	it exerts direct or indirect influence on the wage-fixing process, as when wages are fixed by statute, regulation or other government decree.

Where binding constitutional or legislative provisions already express the principle of equal remuneration and the Government is therefore in a position to enforce the principle, it is charged with ensuring its application under Article 2 of the Convention. 

2.	The Government Obligation to Promote Application of the Principle: 

Wherever the State is not in a position to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration, as when it is excluded from the collective bargaining process, it must nevertheless promote application of the principle. For example, promotion may be accomplished through enforcement of legislation, requirement of pay equity plans, preparation of Codes of Practice, undertaking surveys to identify areas of wage differential, the causes of such and the ways in which it can be removed.

3.	Means of Application

Article 2(2) of the Convention provides that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value may be applied through various means, including: 

(a)	national laws or regulations;
(b)	legally established or recognized machinery for wage determination; 
(c)	collective agreements between employers and workers; or
(d)	a combination of these various means. 

i.	National Legislation:

The Committee has noted a marked increase in recent years in the adoption of national laws incorporating the principle of the Convention and requiring the payment of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.  In its 1998 comments, the Committee noted with satisfaction that the Constitution of Ecuador and the Labour Code of the Republic of Benin were amended to give legal expression to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in accordance with the Convention.  Also in 1998, the Committee noted with interest the adoption of a new Chadian Labour Code, which set out the principle of equal remuneration in accordance with the Convention. In addition to setting out the principle, the legislation also included the provision that the various components of remuneration must be established according to identical standards for men and for women, that professional categories and classifications and the criteria for promotion must be common to workers of both sexes, and that methods for the evaluation of jobs must be based on objective and identical criteria, based essentially on the nature of the work involved in the jobs.  The Committee also noted with interest Guyana’s adoption of the Prevention of Discrimination Act of 1997, which applies to both the public and private sectors and requires every employer (or person acting on the employer’s behalf) to pay equal remuneration to men and women workers performing work of equal value. The Act defines equal remuneration as the rates of remuneration that have been established without differentiation based on the ground of sex and defines work of equal value in terms of the demands it makes in relation to such matters as skill levels, duties, physical and mental efforts, responsibility and conditions of work. In 1999, the Committee noted the revision of equal pay legislation in Ireland to widen the scope of the evaluation exercise for purposes of comparing men and women wages.

While there is no general obligation to enact legislation requiring equal treatment with regard to remuneration, the Convention requires States to amend existing legislation that contravenes the principle of equal remuneration.  The Committee encourages States to periodically review the issue to determine whether legislative action would assist or be appropriate in promoting the realization of equal pay for men and women.

ii.	Machinery for Wage Determination:

Many countries have national boards that establish minimum wages and/or issue guidelines on wage levels generally. Although not required under the Convention, minimum wages are an important means by which the Convention is applied. The composition of these boards and criteria upon which they base their directives are relevant to the effectiveness of these bodies to promote equal pay between men and women.

iii.	Collective Agreements:

Rates of   remuneration are often established by collective agreements entered into
 between employers and workers.  The Committee has on occasion taken note of problems in the application of the principle of equal remuneration in collective agreements.  Such agreements at one time frequently provided for differentiated wage rates for women performing the same tasks as their male counterparts.  There is now a progressive movement in all countries towards single wage scales applicable to workers without distinction on the basis of sex.  

The Committee has also pointed out less explicit forms of wage discrimination that have been found in collective agreements, such as the granting of benefits linked to the marital and family situation of the beneficiary.  For example, in Indonesia, the Committee noted the existence of legislative provisions providing for disparate treatment of men and women workers in relation to the payment of employment-related benefits, such as a head of household allowance payable only to male workers, but not to female workers.

Collective agreements have not been used as often as they could to promote equal pay for work of equal value.  Interestingly, many unions at one time, and this continues to some extent today, exercised caution in the use of wage evaluation exercises as they felt such exercises were a means of lowering wages artificially below market or 
negotiable rates.  

4.	Cooperation With The Social Partners

In keeping with the ILO tripartite structure and approach to problem-solving, Article 4 of the Convention requires each ratifying government to co-operate as appropriate with the employers and workers organizations concerned for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this Convention. In addition to engaging in collective bargaining, social partners cooperation may also take the form of participating in job evaluation design and application, and developing national wage and equal pay policies.

C.	Job Evaluation

Article 3(1) of the Convention provides that where such action will assist in giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, measures shall be taken to promote objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed. The Committee has noted that adoption of the concept of equal remuneration for work of equal value necessarily implies some comparison between jobs.  As men and women tend to perform different jobs, in order to eliminate wage discrimination on the basis of sex, it is essential to establish appropriate techniques and procedures to measure the relative value of jobs with varying content. The application of this concept has become known as comparable worth. 

As stated by Gunderson, comparable worth involves an administrative concept of the value of a job, as opposed to the economic one where the value of a job is determined by the interaction of the forces of supply and demand.    The administrative concept substitutes job evaluation procedures for market forces as the appropriate mechanism for determining the value of the job.

1. Job evaluation methodology

Many management consultancy firms have developed their own systems for undertaking job evaluation. A common element of all systems is the establishment of a job description, which is an accurate statement of the work done by a jobholder. In the simplest form of job evaluation, a total assessment is made of the job value, without analyzing it systematically into facts: job descriptions can be used as the basis of comparisons. More usually, the system compares jobs against pre-selected factors, such as skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions, and the evaluation is based on pre-prepared job descriptions. Schemes that use factors such as these are called analytical, whereas schemes that make whole job comparisons are called non-analytical.

In international practice, types of job evaluation are divided into ranking, classification, factor comparison, and point methods. The ranking and classification methods are non-analytical and the factor comparison and point methods are analytical. In general, it is considered that the analytical methods of job evaluation permit a more thorough comparison of the relative value of jobs. In the factor comparison method, a representative sample of jobs is analyzed according to the selected factors, and assessors then decide how much of the existing basic rate of pay applying to each job is applicable to each of the factors in proportion to their view of the importance of each factor in the job.  In the points rating method, the demands of the job are broken down and a certain weight or degree point is given to different factors chosen.

The Convention does not favour any particular method of evaluation.  Neither does the ILO recommend or condemn any particular method.  However, it must be said that many countries have used the analytical job evaluation methodology and there is a growing consensus that it is the most practicable method of ensuring the application of the principle of equal remuneration in practice. What the Committee is most concerned about and does advocate, is that the utmost care be taken in selecting the factors to be used for comparing value, including factors sufficient to take into account the jobs of women, so that the degree of subjectivity and gender bias is minimized.

2.	Avoidance of Sex Stereotyping in Job Evaluations:

The Committee has recognized that job evaluations may often rely on inherently subjective factors. This in and of itself however is not a reason for not engaging in job evaluation.  Any basis for determining rates of pay ultimately involves some element of subjectivity.  Therefore, it is stressed that care should be taken to avoid sex stereotyping from entering the process, as this may result in an under evaluation of tasks performed primarily by women or those perceived as intrinsically feminine. It is therefore essential to take measures to ensure that job evaluations are done on the basis of objective criteria.  These criteria should not undervalue skills normally required for jobs that are in practice performed by women, such as care-giving, manual dexterity and human relations skills, nor should they overvalue those skills typically associated with jobs traditionally performed by men, such as physical strength. 

The qualities most often attributed to women - dexterity, ability to meet emotional demands in various caring functions etc. - tend to be undervalued by society in comparison with those qualities which men are said to possess. Not surprisingly, societal values are also reflected in wage systems. In terms of their design and construction, job evaluation systems also show an obvious gender bias. Traditional schemes tend to measure only the physical and mental aspects of work and do not include factors that measure adequately certain aspects of the work such as caring or other work with people, or the requirement to organize or co-ordinate activities or people. In addition, a clear line-management bias exists in many of the factors in traditional schemes, thereby undervaluing or ignoring the support and non- managerial work often performed by women. Thus choosing the factors upon which the evaluation will be based is critical.

3.	Undertaking job evaluation

Apart from choosing carefully the factors that are to be used for evaluation, a number of other measures should be taken to ensure success of the procedure.  It is important that both management and workers, men and women, be involved in the scheme, that they agree that one of the goals of the process is to reduce gender based wage discrimination and that both sides have confidence in the process. In most instances, the objective of equalizing pay of men and women is one of many objectives to be pursued in a job evaluation process. In fact, it may be that such an objective is best obtained in an overall wage rationalization process.  In this way many of the pitfalls of undertaking a comparable worth exercise only between men and women are avoided. Adequate and appropriate training should be given to all persons involved, both management and workers, so that there is a real understanding of wage discrimination and an acceptance that it needs to be eliminated. As we all have our own biases and opinions, it is generally recommended that an independent job analyst should be selected and that the analyst’s recommendations be passed through a worker/employer committee for agreement and application. Finally, in establishing the job descriptions to be used, care should be taken to formulate gender-neutral titles, rather than those that pre-suppose the sex of the jobholder. For example, sales assistant should be used in preference to salesman or saleswoman.

4.	Scope of Comparison in job evaluation

It is evident that approaches that limit comparisons in the evaluation process to   jobs in the same organization will not succeed in eliminating sex discrimination in pay: sex-segregation extends beyond any given organization with women being concentrated in different organizations and sectors from men.  The Committee of Experts has stated, in this regard, that the scope of comparison should be as wide as is allowed for by the wage system in existence.

The Committee has pointed out that pay levels vary from sector to sector and are generally lowest in female-dominated sectors, often due to the fact that the kinds of work done in female dominated sectors, such as the textile and garment industries is considered to be typically feminine and an extension of women tasks in the home.  Pay levels are generally higher in traditionally male dominated sectors.  Additionally, the pay gap between men and women workers is often widest within traditionally male-dominated sectors.  Sector pay levels have also been noted to match the male / female domination pattern: rising and falling depending on which sex dominates the sector.  For this reason, the Committee has noted the need for a system permitting the objective appraisal of jobs comparing the relative value of jobs in male and female-dominated sectors. 

All other things being equal, a centralized wage-fixing system, with the broadest possible field of comparison would appear to provide the best guarantee against wage discrimination. In fact, experience has shown that the wage gap is narrowest in those countries with a centralized wage-fixing system whether it is through regulation or collective bargaining. By contrast, fragmented pay structures and those with wide disparities in wage bands offer greater opportunities to introduce sex bias into wages. Where there is a strong trend towards decentralizing wage fixing, there is an even greater value in maintaining minimum wage protection. This is particularly important for women who comprise the majority of low-paid workers in almost all countries.	

III.  Gender-Based Wage Differentials 

A.	The Actual Wage Gap 

Existing wage differentials between men and women workers vary from country to country and, within a country, between the public and private sectors as well as between the different sectors of the economy.   The Committee has noted the wide range of this wage gap.  On average, women typically earn two thirds of male incomes. In its 1998 comments for example, it noted the wide pay disparities in certain sectors of the Lithuanian economy, such as social work, where professional women earnings were less than 50% of those of their male counterparts, and in Japan, where women average monthly earnings were 51 percent of men.  Narrow wage disparities were noted in Bulgaria, where women average monthly earnings in the public sector range from 85% to 91% of men average monthly earnings, depending upon the type of work involved. 

There is mixed evidence about whether, or where, the gender wage gap has shown a tendency to diminish with women’s increased participation in paid work.  In some industrialized countries, such as in the United States, the gap appears to have narrowed.  In others, such as Japan, it appears to have widened.  

Most countries have marked some progress in reducing the wage gap. However gains can, and are, lost when outside forces such as privatization, structural adjustment or financial crises, produce pressure on sectors to shed labour and women are more negatively impacted than men.           As there tends to be greater parity between male and female wages in the public sector, layoffs in the public sector tend to have a negative impact on overall earnings of women in comparison with men who can capture higher earnings in the private sector.    It is also the case that reduced wage gaps between male and female earnings may actually camouflage women’s forced exit from the labour market.   In this case the    women making the lower wages lose their jobs leaving the comparison of wages to be made with those women who tend to be in stronger, better paid positions.   

 B.  Insufficient Information 

It has been impossible for the Committee to determine the full extent of the gender-based wage differentials that may exist in a number of countries, due to the lack of complete information in this area.  In its 1998 General Observation regarding the application of the Convention, the Committee noted that there continues to be a significant disparity in the type and extent of information, including statistical data, supplied by the ratifying States.  

The Committee noted that, in order to permit it to adequately evaluate the nature, extent and causes of the pay gap and assess the application of the Convention, more complete information was necessary, including information on:
(1)	the distribution of women by earnings levels and hours of work (classified by branch of economic activity, occupation or occupational group or level of education/qualification, seniority, age group and number of hours actually worked or paid for; and

(2)	statistical data on the composition of earnings (indicating the nature of earnings, such as basic, ordinary or minimum wage or salary, premium pay for overtime and shift differentials, allowances, bonuses and gratuities, and remuneration for time not worked) and hours of work. 

C.	Causes of the gender pay gap

As implied earlier, it is now recognized that the causes of pay differentials between men and women are found in factors arising both within and outside the labour market. The Committee has noted that many difficulties encountered in achieving equal remuneration are closely linked to the general status of women and men in employment and society.  In order to bring about conditions favouring the application of the principle of equal remuneration, the Committee has indicated that women participation in the labour force should be promoted and they should be guaranteed equal access to jobs and occupations.  The male/female wage gap has been traced mainly to the following :

1.	Productivity related differences in human capital. This includes characteristics that are acquired such as through education, training and experience; endowed or innate such as dexterity, intelligence; or through socialisation or family influence such as caring, cooperative, aggressive, decisive. There is little reason to expect substantial differences in between men and women with respect to innate characteristics, and differences in physical strength do not matter in most modern jobs.  However, the ascribed characteristics that reflect social values or prejudices are valued differently for men and women. Those with higher investments in education, training, labour mobility and job search can legitimately expect to earn more. But such investments are generally lower for women. 

2. 	Differences in available jobs:  Horizontal and vertical occupational segregation of women affects their wages directly by segregating them into lower-paying jobs and indirectly by limiting them to particular occupations.  The Committee has noted that discrimination may first of all arise from the existence of occupational segregation, where certain occupational categories and jobs are reserved (usually implicitly) for women.  As mentioned earlier, the Committee has found that, typically, jobs and sectors in which women are predominately employed tend to pay less than those held primarily by men. Where women and men are in practice segregated into different occupations, industries and specific jobs within enterprises, this is generally the result of strongly entrenched historical and social attitudes. Where occupational segregation exists, women may be excluded from higher paid positions traditionally occupied by men (construction workers, machinists, miners, etc.) and are only recruited for traditionally feminine jobs (secretaries, typists, day care workers, etc.).  Women may also be kept in lower paid positions due to the existence of vertical occupational segregation, which has the effect of keeping them in lower level positions.  The Committee has pointed out that, in many countries,  there is a disproportionately low number of women employed at the higher paid levels. 

The Committee has pointed out also, that even in situations where women have a proportionally higher level of education, they often continue to hold a lower share of managerial and senior positions in various sectors of the economy.  For example, the Committee noted that, in 1997, women in Belarus accounted for 58.6 percent of workers with a university education.  They had a consistently higher level of education than men in various sectors, yet they continue to hold a lower share (45.5 percent) of managerial and senior positions in various sectors of the national economy. In the industrial sector, which is the foremost sector of the economy, women hold only 35.9 percent of managerial posts, despite the fact that they account for 54.2 percent of employees in the sector with special technical education.

3.	Differences in jobs accepted: Due to household or family responsibilities, women may choose or be forced to accept jobs that are easier to combine with such responsibilities. For instance they tend to work less overtime than do men. For the same reasons, they may go into jobs where there is relatively little loss of skills and depreciation of human capital from interruptions in working period.    They may also    loose benefits attached to seniority based on continuous service. The Committee has drawn attention to the fact that women often occupy part-time positions, frequently due to family responsibilities, and that this fact may contribute to wage differentials that exist.  The discrimination can be indirect such as in the case of the United Kingdom, where the Committee noted that the application of the lower earnings limit (LEL) for national insurance contributions has a discriminatory impact and negatively affects women pay, partly because women constitute the majority of part-time workers.  

4.	Pay structure differences within an occupation or social security system: This form of direct discrimination has been due to differences in male and female pay structures within occupations, enterprises or sectors, whether explicit or implicit. The Committee has noted that in some countries, particularly in agriculture, collective agreements still reflect male and female pay rates.  In some countries, differential productivity rates are set for men and women.

V.  Measures Taken to Implement the Convention

As stated previously, a comprehensive approach to the reduction and elimination of pay disparity between men and women involving societal, political, cultural and labour market interventions is required.  The application of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value is a necessary part of such a strategy as it has advantages that non labour market strategies appear unable to achieve on their own.  In addition to legislation, the Committee has noted positive action measures taken by a number of ratifying States to implement the Convention in practice.  Some examples of these include the following:

In Japan, the existing wage gap is primarily due to the concentration of women in lower-paid positions and the lack of equal employment opportunities for women.  In this regard, Japan has recently adopted the Act on Securing Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment.  The Act prohibits employers from discriminating against women in recruitment and hiring, assignment, promotion and training, fringe benefits, mandatory retirement age, retirement and dismissal.  In addition, Japan has abolished certain restrictions on overtime and night work by women as well as work during holidays, in order to expand women employment opportunities and promote equal treatment of men and women workers.  Recognizing that the seniority wage system is also a primary cause of the wage differential, Japan is actively promoting various measures to harmonize working life with family life, by providing for a child care leave system and a family care leave system, to address the impact of differences in length of service due to family responsibilities on the remuneration of men and women.

Some governments have established pay equity plans or general equality plans containing an equal remuneration component designed to promote application of the principle of the Convention.  For example, in Canada, the Pay Equity Act of 1996 requires employers with more than 50 employees to establish a pay equity plan, to be put in place within four years following the promulgation of the Act.  These plans must be developed in four stages: (1) identification of predominately female and male job classes; (2) description of the job evaluation method and instruments; (3) the job evaluation exercise and determination of necessary adjustments in compensation; and (4) determination of the terms and conditions of payment.  Where employers have 100 or more employees, a pay equity committee must be established.  Bipartite committees may be set up to facilitate the establishment of pay equity plans in particular sectors.  The Act also establishes a Committee on Pay Equity, which carries out a range of activities, including monitoring, advisory, research, promotional and regulatory functions. It may receive individual complaints and carry out non-advisory investigations on its own initiative or following a dispute or complaint involving issues of pay equity.  The Commission is also authorized to settle any questions regarding pay equity between a predominately female job class and a predominately male job class in enterprises employing fewer than ten employees. Recently as a result of this initiative, Labour Canada has just agreed to pay women working in the public service an amount of back pay to compensate them for their undervalued wages over a period of time.  

In Finland, the Equality Ombudsman issued guidelines to assist employers in formulating their workplace equality plans.  The guidelines explain the employer equal pay duties and provide examples of how pay issues should be handled in equality plans.  The plans formulated by employers vary, with some calling for the creation of a pay system built on job evaluations as a means to greater pay equality.  Some plans require pay analyses to be carried out at regular intervals to permit the identification and correction of pay discrimination, while others view the reallocation and reorganization of work as a method of promoting equal pay.

Finland provides an interesting example of how the principle of equal pay for work of equal value can be pursued as a national objective, and how it can (or cannot) be adapted with the introduction of new wage systems.  A study on the strategy adopted and difficulties encountered in its pursuit is currently underway by the ILO.

Some of the new approaches to gender-neutral job evaluation have conceptualized work as having human relations skills and emotional aspects, as well as mental and physical aspects. For example, a scheme developed in New Zealand includes under the criterion of effort three factors.  The first of these - physical demand- measures the type and duration of physical effort. It measures the demands made by the strenuous or repeated use of muscles (including fine muscle movements), as well as the demands made by working in awkward or constrained body positions and/or at speed. The need to maintain muscle use over time or to maintain a constrained body position will increase the level of physical effort required. This factor thus goes beyond measuring only the degree of physical strength needed in a job and encompasses more equitably those physical demands inherent in women work as well as in men. The second factor measures the mental demands required in concentration. It measures the intensity and frequency of this mental demand, requiring consideration of the type of work and the need for precision. The third factor measures the emotional demands made by the job, whether they occur through dealing directly with the needs of people who require care, attention, instruction or assistance or through inherently stressful and frustrating work situations, such as conflicting work assignments, inherent communication difficulties, dealing with angry, upset or difficult people, time pressure and deadlines. It is particularly evident that this last factor of emotional demands has a considerable application to many of the jobs in which women predominate. This is but one example of an attempt to avoid gender bias by extending the number of factors in an evaluation scheme to reflect also aspects of the work in which many women are involved.

In 1998, the Committee noted that Switzerland Federal Bureau on Equality between Men and Women has formulated two instruments for objective job evaluation: the analytical Evaluation of Work (ABAKABA) and Do I Earn What I Deserve? (VIWIV). The ABAKABA includes criteria such as repetitiveness and precision of movement, responsibility for the life of others, responsibility for the environment, number of work interruptions, empathy and organizational abilities.  VIWIV is intended to complement the ABAKABA and allows workers themselves to assess whether or not they have experienced wage discrimination. In the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Labour has formulated an Analytical methodology for job evaluation that includes criteria based on, inter alia, specific job requirements in terms of practical experience, dexterity, job complexity, handling of information, working activities and work relations, responsibility for damages and occupational safety and health, management requirements, physical, sensorial and neuro-psychological demands and work hazards entailed in the position.

Belgium has recently recognized the importance of improving its current job classification system.  A study commissioned in 1996 by the Ministry of Employment and Work showed that, of the 141 sectoral job classifications in Belgium, only 16 percent had an analytical base. The non-analytical classification schemes were not considered to be gender-neutral.  The study concluded that modernization of the sectoral classification schemes was urgently required.  The 1998 Belgium Plan of Action, investing in People and Employment, finds that women work in a restricted number of sectors and jobs, and that an important cause of inequality in remuneration can be attributed to outdated job classification schemes that do not take into account the value of female qualifications and attributes (in jobs performed primarily by women). 

Recent jurisprudence of the German Federal Labour Court contemplates that a higher classification should be given to jobs that, while physically lighter, entail mental and nervous strain.  Moreover, the category of physically arduous work which is better paid, includes jobs that involve not only muscular, but also other strain on human beings that can result in physical reactions.

The Venezuelan Government has issued Job Classification Manuals that place posts in the public service into classes under the same heading, depending upon the type and purpose of the work.  Each post is then assigned a grade, based upon the minimum requirements of the work, its relative complexity, the amount of duties and responsibilities corresponding to the work, and working conditions, without distinction as to the sex of the worker.

Both Sweden and Denmark have launched major campaigns to promote equal pay for work of equal value aimed at addressing problems both within and outside of the labour market.

One of the most important legal changes of equal remuneration between women and men in 1999 in Europe was the Treaty of Amsterdam of 2 October 1997 of the European   Community that came into force on the 1 May 1999, after being ratified by fifteen members. It stipulates the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. The former Article 119 of the EC Treaty of 1957 (Treaty of Rome) merely stipulated the principle of equal pay for equal work.  The European Community adopted in 1975 a Directive (Directive 75/117) that enacted the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. The European   Commission issued a Code of Practice on Equal Pay. However, the relationship between Article 119 and the Directive produced problems, because Article 119 as a Treaty provision took precedence over any secondary legislation. Thus, it was interpreted that the principle of equal pay for equal work enshrined in the EC treaty, did encompass -by way of interpretation- the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.  

With the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997, the European Community established a clear mandate to apply the principle of equal pay for work of equal value thus removing the former questions over interpretation. It may be anticipated that litigation in equal value cases now will increase in Europe. One case on equal value, referred by the Swedish Labour Court, is before the European Court of Justice.  In this case, female birth attendants would like to compare themselves with male X-ray technicians from the same County Council of Stockholm. The national Court requested the European Court of Justice to rule on the criteria that should be used by national courts when deciding whether jobs are of equal value. 

VII.	The Need for a Comprehensive Approach

As shown in the paper, the sources of wage discrimination are complex and many. For this reason, wage discrimination cannot be tackled effectively unless action is also taken simultaneously to deal with all of its sources. As is evident from the preceding discussion, it is important to discuss equal remuneration and job evaluation in the context of a more general protection against discrimination, such as that offered in the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156). Policies that deal only with labour market discrimination are inadequate, since factors arising outside the labour market (relating to traditional ideas about the role of women and the conflict between work and family responsibilities) appear to be a more significant source of pay inequality than factors that originate within the labour market. The opposite is equally true. Legislation has been a decisive factor in eliminating discrimination and in promoting the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, particularly in cases of direct and flagrant discrimination. But the continued persistence of the wage gap has led some Governments to introduce more pro-active measures (rather than complaints-based procedures), such as requiring employers to implement and maintain pay equity plans, often negotiated with trade unions, if they are present. 

Comparable worth is an important tool to combat wage inequality as it has the potential to addresses the wage gap in a widespread way.  For some types of discrimination it is an effective remedy as well.  Whether it should be mandatory as a national policy for all establishments to undertake is less certain and would depend on a myriad of factors one of the most significant being how centralized the wage setting structure is within the country.      For small business, job evaluation could be undertaken in a simplified form through an examination of the pay scale and an identification of areas where corrective action needs to be taken. What is clear is that is should be the policy and applied in the public service and in some way should be promoted in the private sector. 

Some of the challenges facing the promotion of equal pay for work of equal value include the move towards the more competency based wage determination, based more on performance than job content. The manner in which equal value in terms of performance is applied will have to be determined and work is ongoing now at Harvard University with this very aim in mind.   Other approaches may well emerge for new forms of work organization or wage setting.   The transformation of work including the changing structure of output, changing work organization including multitasking and team working, the rise of flexible jobs and precarious contracts, changing patterns of labour mobility and the changing nature of the informal sector are the challenges to be faced in the search as to how to ensure equal pay to all working women and men for work of equal value.