The Institutionalised Undervaluation of Women’s Work: The Case of Local Government Sector Collective Agreements

Paula Koskinen Sandberg, Maria Törnroos and Roosa Kohvakka
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Paula Koskinen Sandberg: Hanken School of Economics, Finland
Maria Törnroos: Hanken School of Economics, Finland
Roosa Kohvakka: Independent Researcher, Finland

Work, Employment & Society, 2018, vol. 32, issue 4, 707-725

Abstract: This article analyses the role of collective agreements in institutionalising and legitimising the undervaluation of work conducted by women. The undervaluation of women’s work has been identified as one of the main causes of the gender pay gap. Despite this, it continues to escape many of the policy measures on gender pay equity that focus on establishing wage discrimination. The Finnish local government sector provides an interesting case for research on undervaluation, as it has several collective agreements and several wage determination systems for different employee groups. However, a local authority is a single employer, and is obliged by law to treat all employees equally. Although the processes of wage determination vary across different national contexts, institutionalised undervaluation is very likely among highly feminised jobs and occupations worldwide. This article sees wages as social practices that reflect and are shaped by institutional, societal and historical contexts.

Keywords: collective agreements; equal pay; Finland; gender; institutionalised undervaluation; local government; pay gap (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:32:y:2018:i:4:p:707-725

DOI: 10.1177/0950017017711100

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