Kollektive Lohnverhandlungen und der Gender Wage Gap

Abstract

"Empirical studies indicate that the gender wage gap is lower under collectively negotiated contracts than in firms not bound by such contracts. It is, however, a largely open question, how the organization and the process of collective negotiations affect the gender wage gap. In the period from July to October 2013, the IAB therefore conducted 18 interviews with experts in collective bargaining from employers' organizations and trade unions in four different industries.<br> Most respondents did not consider collective agreements as a possible source of wage differences between men and women. Consequently, they see only limited potential to reduce the gender pay gap at the level of collective bargaining. In internal discussions, the gender wage gap plays hardly a role neither in employers' associations nor in smaller trade unions. Larger unions, in contrast, have developed first approaches, such as quotas for women on boards and voluntary commitments to review collective agreements for discriminatory components. According to the interviewees, women are often under-represented in decision-making and especially in negotiating committees. The majority of respondents, however, did not consider the proportion of women in committees as relevant for the results achieved in a negotiation. Part of the respondents believes that the existing wage structure penalizes female-dominated occupations. However, a revised wage structure is difficult to implement: From the employers' view, a revision should be cost-neutral, while from the unions' perspective, redistribution between occupational groups is assessed as not enforceable." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Gärtner, D., Grimm, V., Lang, J., Stephan, G., Dony, E., Strien, K., Daumann, V. & Knapp, B. (2014): Kollektive Lohnverhandlungen und der Gender Wage Gap. Befunde aus einer qualitativen Studie. (IAB-Discussion Paper 14/2014), Nürnberg, 32 p.