The EU and pay equality: women’s cause paladin or organised hypocrite? A journey through EU history milestones up to today

Abstract

Has the EU been an entrepreneur in the field of gender pay equality? The current situation, with a stagnating GPG and COVID-19 which increases the issues faced by many women, can suggest a negative answer. However, the EU has also shown a real commitment to the issue from its inclusion in the EEC founding treaty with Art. 119, as highlighted by the preparatory works, to the most recent Work-Life Balance Directive. For this reason, this thesis chose the historical method to investigate EU behaviour in milestone moments of EU development, not necessarily related to pay equality, such as the EU enlargements towards Eastern Europe, and to try to shed light also on the EU mindset on the topic. A historical analysis of a long-lasting problem which continues to occupy Union’s institutions from its foundation up to today. Since it would be impossible to analyse pay inequality without precisely defining it, the thesis tries to provide an accurate picture of reality, balancing, combining, and breaking down the most important statistical indicators. Moreover, the thesis presents a macroeconomic approach, to calculate the gap and the positive effects of its reduction on the situation at EU and MSs level. EU actions are evaluated against the backdrop of the widening of the Union’s territory and the deepening of its competencies. The analysis demonstrate how the EU has played a fundamental role for pay equality, although with large space of improvement, especially regarding consistency.