The contribution of Economic and Organisational Sociology to understanding pay inequalities between men and women

Abstract

Keeping in line with the very origins of Análise Social, this text acknowledges the importance of an interdisciplinary dialogue between Economics and Sociology to the understanding of gender inequalities in the labour market, while mainly focusing on the gender pay gap. The particular magnitude of the unexplained fraction of such gap supports the thesis that the ‘value’ of work is not gender-neutral. This finding calls for the need of job evaluation methodologies and pay policies that, at an organisational level, fully ensure non-discrimination (both direct and indirect) on the grounds of gender, along with a consistent and well-articulated approach towards the deconstruction of gender stereotypes in all fields of public policies.