Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value? Iceland and the Equal Pay Standard

Abstract Job evaluation systems have a history of being critiqued as upholding gender inequality. Paradoxically, however, the Icelandic Equal Pay Standard (IEPS), a novel and publicly praised gender equality policy, is based on a job evaluation tool. The aim of this article is to stipulate an initia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society
Main Author: Wagner, Ines
Other Authors: Knowledge status of the Equal Pay Standard in Iceland, Norwegian Ministry of Children and Families and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxaa032
https://academic.oup.com/sp/article-pdf/29/2/477/44080397/jxaa032.pdf
Description
Summary:Abstract Job evaluation systems have a history of being critiqued as upholding gender inequality. Paradoxically, however, the Icelandic Equal Pay Standard (IEPS), a novel and publicly praised gender equality policy, is based on a job evaluation tool. The aim of this article is to stipulate an initial analysis of how key stakeholders in the Icelandic context view and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the IEPS so far. Drawing on organizational literature and feminist institutionalism, the findings show how equal pay for work of equal value can be achieved. At the same time, the article highlights the need for more emphasis on and awareness of the value of feminized work within organizations, which remains underrecognized in the IEPS.