EU project "Implementing the principle of equal pay through non-discriminatory job evaluation at universities"

EU project "Implementing the principle of equal pay through non-discriminatory job evaluation at universities

Women in the European Union still earn less than their male colleagues, even though the principle of equal pay for equal work and work of equal value has long been enshrined in law in the German Basic Law, the German Civil Code and the Amsterdam Treaties. The lower pay does not mean, for example, that a female secretary classified according to the BAT earns less than a male secretary in the same BAT classification, but rather that the work of a female secretary (a typically female profession) is rated significantly lower according to the BAT than the work of a male colleague in a typical profession.

For this reason, the Federal Conference of Women's and Equal Opportunities Officers at Universities (BuKoF) initiated a scientific research project in 1999 to investigate - in a European context - the implementation of the principle of equal pay through non-discriminatory job evaluation at universities. This project was funded by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and supported by the ÖTV trade union. The Social Research Centre Dortmund was commissioned to carry out the project.

Project objectives

The aim of the research project was to examine whether the principle of equal pay can be better taken into account by applying a modified job evaluation procedure. The project used assessment tools which, in the opinion of experts, are much better suited than the BAT to meet the changed work requirements not only in "typical female" jobs, but also in "typical male" jobs.

Project realisation

Exemplary job analyses were carried out at four universities (Augsburg, Berlin, Bielefeld and Dortmund), each with a group of female university secretaries and two male comparison groups, using gender-neutral criteria and a self-evaluation.

Project results

The results from the job descriptions of the university secretariats showed that in more than three quarters of the cases, the jobs in the university secretarial area achieved higher scores than in the male-dominated comparative jobs and that the application of a non-discriminatory job evaluation would definitely lead to a significant upgrading of the secretarial jobs.

More detailed information on the job evaluation analysis tool developed based on the ABAKABA job evaluation system and on the project implementation and results can be found here.

A short presentation of the results of the research project can also be found here on the BuKoF website.