Social Partners and Gender Equality: Change and Continuity in Gendered Corporatism in Europe

Description

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. 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