equal pay legislation

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

laws requiring that employers pay men and women equally for equal work or work of equal value, addressing the persistent gender pay gap in which women on average earn less than men across nearly all economies and occupations; equal pay legislation in the United States dates to the Equal Pay Act of 1963; the UK's Equal Pay Act of 1970 and subsequent Equality Act of 2010 establish both equal pay for equal work and equal pay for work of equal value using job evaluation; despite legal frameworks, gender pay gaps persist due to occupational segregation, the undervaluation of female-dominated professions, the motherhood penalty, and discrimination; pay transparency requirements — compelling employers to report gender pay gap data — have emerged as a complementary enforcement mechanism in many jurisdictions