Comparative legal research on the justification for gender wage gaps and an analysis of laws in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada prohibiting wage discrimination against women

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K03419
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Social law
• Research Institution: Fukuoka University
• Principal Investigator: TOKORO Hiroyo 福岡大学, 法学部, 教授 (40580006)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: ジェンダー / 男女間賃金格差 / 賃金差別 / 賃金透明化 / ペイ・エクイティ / プロアクティブ法 / 同一労働同一賃金 / 同一価値労働同一賃金

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines issues related to the current legal framework for addressing gender discrimination in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and Canada, with a particularly strong focus on the defences employers raise to justify the gender wage gap in these three countries. In Canada, the law requires employers to develop and implement action plans to reduce the gender wage gap. In addition, UK and Canadian laws also require employers to publish wage gap information on websites. Similar practices were also found in some U. S. state laws. The intent of these legal measures is to encourage employers to reduce the gender wage gap itself, rather than simply seeking justifications for the gap. Similar legal measures exist in Japan; however, they do not include mandatory periodic audits such as those that exist in Canada and the UK. Japan should consider the situation in Canada and the UK to strengthen the effectiveness of Japanese legislation.

Free Research Field

労働法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

カナダやイギリスで行われているジェンダー賃金格差の情報公開制度は、使用者に対して、賃金格差の正当事由を探すよりも、男女格差そのものを縮小することに主眼を置くように求めるものである。日本にも同じ施策があるが、カナダと比べると、使用者が公開する情報の種類が少なく、男女間格差が発見された場合も、その格差の縮小に向けて行動する義務は課されていない。本研究は、カナダとイギリスの状況を参考に、日本における法制度の強化を提案するもので、この点に学術的意義があると考える。