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The gender pay gap—What's the problem represented to be? Analyzing the discourses of Estonian employers, employees, and state officials on pay equality

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  • Kadri Aavik
  • Pille Ubakivi‐Hadachi
  • Maaris Raudsepp
  • Triin Roosalu

Abstract

The gender pay gap (GPG) remains significant in most countries and is a key indicator of gender inequality in society. Qualitative research on the GPG is scarce, yet, qualitative perspectives on the GPG are valuable as the ways in which the GPG is understood and talked about shape actions to tackle it. This article focuses on how the GPG is represented in the context of work and organizations, inspired by the “What's the Problem Represented to be?” approach, developed by Carol Bacchi. The analysis draws on qualitative data—63 interviews with employers, employees, and state officials—collected in Estonia which exhibits one of the largest GPGs in the European Union. Five dominant representations of the GPG were identified: the GPG as (a) consciously produced by employers, (b) different pay for the same work, (c) unmeasurable due to “unique” and “incomparable” jobs and workers, (d) produced by women's failure to ask for fair pay, and (e) impossible for employers to reduce because of market forces. Collectively, these representations render the GPG inevitable, downplaying its emergence as a result of specific gendered social practices. This has implications for the employers' and the state's willingness and strategies to reduce the GPG.

Suggested Citation

  • Kadri Aavik & Pille Ubakivi‐Hadachi & Maaris Raudsepp & Triin Roosalu, 2024. "The gender pay gap—What's the problem represented to be? Analyzing the discourses of Estonian employers, employees, and state officials on pay equality," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 171-191, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:31:y:2024:i:1:p:171-191
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.13061
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sandra Fredman, 2022. "Inching Forward: Preliminary Victory for Equal Value at Tesco and Asda," Industrial Law Journal, Industrial Law Society, vol. 51(1), pages 166-173.
    2. Virginija Grybaite, 2006. "Analysis of theoretical approaches to gender pay gap," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 85-91.
    3. Maarja Saar & Kadri Aavik, 2022. "Negotiating neoliberalism in the private sphere: narratives of Estonian single mothers," Journal of Baltic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Anna Aizer, 2010. "The Gender Wage Gap and Domestic Violence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(4), pages 1847-1859, September.
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