Gender equality bargaining in France and the UK: An uphill struggle?

Abstract

Collective bargaining is widely advocated as one means of addressing continued gender pay disparities. However, since collective bargaining has been weakened as a mode of employment regulation, its efficacy relative to statutory regulation is a matter of debate. This article examines the relationship between collective bargaining and the law and the impact of bargaining content and structures on gender equality outcomes, by focusing on France and the United Kingdom, two European Union (EU) countries which have markedly different collective bargaining traditions and structures, contrasting legal traditions and different gender regimes. The comparison highlights the respective contributions of supportive legislation, bargaining structures and bargaining equity as drivers of change, emphasizing the particular importance of supportive legislation in the two countries, as well as the particular vulnerability of UK gains (in the context of recessionary conditions, a voluntaristic approach and a weakened and localized bargaining framework) and the weakness of bargaining in relation in France, in the context of supportive legislation but inadequate legal enforcement.