Ms Amanda Viriri

Research project: Reflexive law versus substantive law: The role of law in gender pays inequality

Abstract

Thesis Synopsis

The gender pay gap that has been highly topical in last few decades, stemming mainly from the enactment on the Equal Pay Act 1970, which not only acknowledged its existence but also sought to remedy what appeared to be an all pervasive issue. The gender pay gap relates to the differences between the wages earned by women and by men.  It has been argued that the gender pay gap has significantly widened, with the gap for hourly earnings for full-time workers increasing to 10%. This figure increases to 19.7% when part time worker are included, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  This demonstrates that despite almost 50 years of equal pay legislation and case law, the gender pay gap still very much persists and it is important to address why this is.  

However, the topicality of the ‘gender pay gap' is not only a domestic phenomenon but has become highly topical as a European political agenda and beyond. This is evidenced by current events such as the new junior doctor's contracts in the NHS and the equal pay debate within the British Broadcasting Cooperation. Through European enacted directives and regulation, the landscape in which employers in the UK have operated in has changed in order to address the differences in pay and the causes for this.