The economics of equal pay

Abstract

The importance of the concept of equal pay appears to derive from the notion that unequal pay represents discrimination against women, and hence is unjust. There is however a basic difficulty in defining "equal pay". The Commission felt that "outside the public service such a provision would affect only a small proportion of women workers". We certainly concur in this reasoning, since about 25 per cent of women workers are in occupations that are 90 per cent or more female and no doubt if more detailed data were available on grades etc. it would be clear that very few women are doing work for which there is an exactly comparable male rate of pay.