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Decoupling gender equality from gender pay audits in Swedish municipalities

Author

Listed:
  • Minna Salminen-Karlsson

    (Centre for Gender Research, Uppsala University, Sweden)

  • Anna Fogelberg Eriksson

    (Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Sweden)

Abstract

This article investigates processes of gender pay audits in five municipalities in Sweden in order to understand the reasons why gender pay audits in general do not level out men’s and women’s salaries in the way they are intended to. The results show how gender pay audits became a bureaucratic process to fulfil a legal requirement, and how they were decoupled from core organizational practices and salary policies. This decoupling was furthered by the realization that the result of gender pay audits would imply a need for large structural changes in pay policies, for which there were no financial means. Consequently, decoupling was found to be a major reason why gender pay audits are ineffective in coming to terms with gender pay gaps.

Suggested Citation

  • Minna Salminen-Karlsson & Anna Fogelberg Eriksson, 2022. "Decoupling gender equality from gender pay audits in Swedish municipalities," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1588-1609, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:43:y:2022:i:4:p:1588-1609
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X211020804
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    3. Jacqueline O’Reilly & Mark Smith & Simon Deakin & Brendan Burchell, 2015. "Equal Pay as a Moving Target: International perspectives on forty-years of addressing the gender pay gap," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 39(2), pages 299-317.
    4. Deborah M. Figart, 2000. "Equal Pay for Equal Work: The Role of Job Evaluation in an Evolving Social Norm," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 1-19, March.
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