This book breaks new ground in gender and politics research by studying the multiple ways in which gender and intersectional equalities shape and are shaped by social partners representing employers and employees in Europe, as well as the relationships between those social partners. Little critical attention has been paid to these organizations, yet, as this volume illustrates, social partners are important actors in relation to gender and other inequalities at the level of both individual European countries and the European Union. The chapters in this volume explore the impact of social partners on (in)equalities in a variety of 21st-century political contexts, taking into account phenomena such as neoliberalisation, austerity, and the COVID-19 crisis. This volume adds a crucial dimension to studies on gender inequalities in the labour market, contributing to research on issues such as domestic work, the gender pay gap, and the persistent undervaluation of women’s labour and feminized reproductive labour, in particular care work. It also represents a significant contribution to the literature on gender equality policy. The book’s focus on social partners provides important insights that help to explain the persistence of gender inequalities and the difficulties of adopting and implementing policies to combat them. This volume should appeal to students and researchers of gender studies, politics, European politics, employment relations, and international relations, as well as to policymakers engaged in addressing gender inequalities in the labour market.
Author(s): Anna Elomäki, Johanna Kantola, Paula Koskinen Sandberg
Series: Gender and Politics
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 323
City: London
Preface
Praise for Social Partners and Gender Equality
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
Gender, Power and Corporatism
Introduction
The Complex Relationships Between Gender Equality and Social Partners
Shifting Political Context: Neoliberalisation, Crises and Transnationalisation
Gender, Power and Corporatism: Different Analytical Perspectives
Content of the Book
References
Collective Bargaining and Gender Equality
The Gendered Nature of Pattern Bargaining: Leeway for Change?
Introduction
Collective Bargaining, Institutional Regulation and the Gender Pay Gap
The Norwegian Case
Method and Material
Labour, Wage Formation and Equality
The Role of Pattern Bargaining in the Norwegian Economy and the Gender Pay Gap
How Do LO Documents Discuss or Problematise ‘Value’?
How LO Problematises the Gender Pay Gap: The Underlying Problem Is Individual Behaviour Rather Than a Structural Issue
Conclusion
References
Conflicts Over Gender Equality Bargaining: The Introduction of a Gender Equality Fund in Sweden
Introduction
Trade Unions and Gender
The Swedish Case
Methodology: Understanding Underlying Problem Constructions Related to Class and Gender
Social Partners and Lines of Conflict in the Course of Events
Analysing Divergent Problem Constructions in the Debate
Proponents of the GEP: The Problem of Value Discrimination Regarding Women’s Work
Opponents of the GEP: The Problem of Women Working in Low-Income Sectors
Class and Gender: Understanding the Conflict Over the GEP
Conclusion
References
Negotiating in a Highly Feminised Sector: The French Domestic Work and Home-Based Care Sector
Introduction
Background
Analysing Collective Agreements Through a Gender Lens
An Unfinished Standardisation of Home-Based Care/Domestic Work
A Precarious Feminised Workforce
Incentives to Declare Domestic Workers and Carers
Inclusive Coverage Provided by the Collective Agreements
Analysis
Inclusion but Incomplete Standardisation
Income Security
Access to Training Opportunities
Fair Treatment
Recognition of Life Beyond Work
The Balance of Power Between the Social Partners
Fragmented Social Partners
Negotiating the SPE Collective Agreement
Negotiating the BAD Collective Agreement
Negotiating the SAP Collective Agreement
Defending the Interests of Undocumented Migrant Domestic Workers and Carers
The Influence of the Institutionalised Industrial Relations System on the French Social Partners
Institutional Influence on the Extension of the Collective Agreements
Ensuring the Social Partners Are Active Representatives
Codetermination Funds
Conclusion
References
Social Partners and Equality Bargaining in France: A Blunt Tool for Reducing Gender Pay Gaps
Introduction
Dialogue or Bargaining? The French Context
Collective Bargaining on Gender Equality in France: The Legal Framework
Collective Bargaining on Gender Equality in France in Practice
Conclusion
References
Is Finnish Corporatism Reconfiguring, and Is It Good for Gender Equality?
Introduction
Finnish Corporatism and Its Reconfigurations
Advancing Gender Equality Through Collective Bargaining
Labour Market Organisations Shaping Gender Equality Policy
Cases and Materials
Reconfigurations and Continuity in Peak Corporatism: Struggles Over the Value and Cost of Feminised Work
The Competitiveness Pact: Trading Gender Equality for the Institutional Continuity of the Corporatist System
Sectoral Bargaining for Nurses’ Wage Increases in the Context of COVID-19
Civil Society Challenge to Unequal Pay Practices in the Finnish Local Government Sector
Reconfigurations in Routine Corporatism: The Government Takes the Lead in Gender Equality Policy
Conclusion
References
Social Partners’ Influence on Gender Policymaking and Framings of Equality
EU Neo-Corporatism and Gender Equality Policy: Disappearing Partnership?
Introduction
The Emergence and Institutionalisation of the EU Gender Equality Policy: A Relationship of Mistrust (1970s–1980s)
Collective Absence, Individual Alliances
A Policy that Is Too Costly and Too Elitist?
Being in and Out: Social Partners in the EU Gender Equality Neo-Corporatist Governance (1990s–2000s)
The Development of European Social Dialogue: The Social Partners, Unwilling Actors in European Gender Equality Policy
A Compatible Gender Regime, a Separate Identity
Troubled Times: Facing the Double Bind of the Critical Transformation of EU Gender Equality Policy and of Social Governance (2010s–)
EU Gender Equality Policy Is Not a Social Policy Anymore? Social Partners as Interest Groups Among Others
Gender Equality at the Margins
Conclusion
References
European Social Partners: Advancing and Opposing European Union’s Gender Equality Policies
Introduction
European Social Partners Influencing EU Gender Equality Policy
Research Material and Methodology
European Social Partners’ Internal and Policy-Oriented Activities for Gender Equality
Gender Equality Issues and Constructions of Gender Equality
Actors and Policy Measures for Gender Equality
Conclusion
References
Converging and Conflicting Perspectives on Gender Equality Amongst Spanish Social Partners
Introduction
Social Partners and Gender Equality Policy
Social Partners and Gender Equality Policy in Spain
The Spanish Social Partners
Gender Equality Policy: Work-Life Balance and the Gender Pay Gap
Material and Methods
Converging Conceptions of Equality in the Work-Life Balance Policy Debate
Different Conceptions of Equality in the Gender Pay Gap Debate
Conclusion
References
Gendered Patterns of Representation in Trade Unions
Trade Unions, Collective Bargaining and Gender in Germany
Introduction
The Economic and Political Context: The German System of Industrial Relations and the Development of Women’s Employment
Measures to Advance Women at IG Metall and ver.di—Women’s Quotas and Structures
Current Collective Bargaining Policy on Gender-Relevant Issues
IG Metall: Between the Claim to Gender Democracy and the Practice of Male-Dominated Organisation Culture
Ver.di: Upgrading Female Care Work and the Feminisation of Labour Unrest
Conclusion
References
From Feminised to Feminist? Trade Union Campaigns for Early Years Educators, Nurses and Midwives in Ireland
Introduction
Ireland: Gendered Employment and Unionisation
Trade Unions: Gendered Work and Gendered Organising
Research Material and Methodology
Big Start: Together for Early Years
Nurses and Midwives: From Anti-Austerity to Frontline ‘Heroes’
Conclusion
References
Selecting Social Partners: Collective Bargaining for Gender Equality in the Shadow of Political Polarisation and Ideology in Turkey
Introduction
Corporatist Arrangements and Gendered Interests
Corporatist State and Gendered Practices of Trade Unions in Turkey
Analysis on the Impact of Political Polarisation on Collective Bargaining
Conclusion
References
Conclusions on Social Partners and Gender Equality in Europe
Introduction
Collective Bargaining and Gender Equality
Social Partners’ Influence on Gender Policymaking and Framings of Equality
Gendered Patterns of Representation in Trade Unions
Finishing Thoughts and Future Research Agendas
Index
