Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Egypt (Ratification: 1960)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Assessment of the gender pay gap. In its previous comment, the Committee had noted that women were predominantly employed in the public sector, with a very low rate of female participation in the private sector. It had therefore suggested to the Government to undertake a study to determine the nature, extent and causes of gender pay gaps that may exist both in the public and the private sectors. In its response, the Government merely states that wage determination in the public sector as well as in the private sector is not based on sex but on grade, seniority, experience and skills. While equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is a principle that is widely accepted, the scope of the concept and its application in practice are more difficult to grasp and apply. That is why the gender pay gap remains one of the most persistent forms of inequality between women and men and an obvious example of structural gender discrimination (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 668 and 672). The Committee stresses that the gender pay gap is a high-level indicator of the difference between women’s and men’s earnings and that factors that contribute to the gender pay gap are, inter alia, the jobs women do (as women are more likely to be clustered in a narrow range of occupations and at the bottom or middle of an enterprise); the value put on women’s jobs (the skills and knowledge that women contribute in female-dominated occupations may not be recognized or valued appropriately in comparison to other jobs); and work arrangements and caring responsibilities (more women combine primary caregiving with part-time work, which tends to be more readily available in lower-paid occupations and positions). Consequently, the Committee requests once again the Government to examine the possibility of undertaking a study to determine the nature, extent and causes of gender pay gaps that may exist both in the public and the private sectors and limits women’s access to better paying occupations and positions.

Wage determination. In its report, the Government reiterates its explanation concerning the terms of reference of the National Wage Council under Order No. 983 of 2003, and indicates in this regard that the most important tasks of the Council are to set minimum wages at the national level while taking into account the cost of living to ensure a minimum living wage for workers, determine the structure of wages in different occupations, sectors and activities, and formulate a national policy on wages. In this respect, the Committee wishes to draw attention to the important role of minimum wages in the context of wage-determination machinery, as the setting of minimum wages is an important means by which the Convention is applied. The minimum wage system helps to raise the earnings of the lowest paid and therefore has an influence on the relationship between men’s and women’s wages and on reducing the gender pay gap – as women predominate in low-wage employment. Minimum wages are, however, often set at the sectoral level, and there is a tendency to set lower wages for sectors predominantly employing women. Consequently, special attention is needed in the design or adjustment of sectoral minimum wage schemes to ensure that the rates fixed are free from gender bias and, in particular, that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued. Even though regulations determining the minimum wage do not make a distinction between men and women, it is not sufficient to ensure that there is no gender bias in the process. Rates should be fixed based on objective criteria, free from gender bias, to ensure that the work in sectors with a high proportion of women is not being undervalued in comparison with sectors in which men are predominantly employed. In addition, in defining different occupations and jobs for the purpose of fixing minimum wages, gender-neutral terminology should be used to avoid stereotypes as to whether certain jobs should be carried out by a man or a woman (see 2012 General Survey, paragraph 683). The Committee, again, asks the Government to indicate the manner in which the National Wages Council ensures, when determining wage structures, that wage rates are fixed based on objective criteria, free from gender bias, and that occupations, sectors and activities in which women predominate are not being undervalued in comparison with those of men who are performing different work and using different skills.

Awareness raising and enforcement. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Central Department for Development and Administrative Training organized 14 training sessions on the concept of “work of equal value” and on objective job evaluation methods which were attended by 178 male and 132 female labour inspectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the content of the training courses mentioned in the report, and on the enforcement activities of the labour inspectorate in the field of wage discrimination, as well as on any judicial decisions relating to the principle of equal remuneration.