ADDRESSING THE GENDER PAY GAP: THE RECENT ITALIAN LEGAL REFORM IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

Female participation and permanence in the labour market have progressively increased in recent years, but significant gender inequalities in employment and salary levels persist. Indeed, the gender pay gap is still one of the biggest obstacles to overcome gender discrimination in the world of work and beyond. It represents a long-standing challenge in policy and research. The aim of this dissertation is to identify the reasons behind the gender pay gap and the various responses adopted by the European Union and its Member States, particularly Italy. The analysis is divided into three chapters that guide the reader through the subject. The first chapter introduces the concept of the gender pay gap and the method by which it is calculated, reporting the most up-to-date statistical data. It then investigates the main causes leading to this gap and provides an overview of the problem in the various countries of the Union. The second chapter goes on to examine the principle of equal pay for men and women within the Union, from its introduction for the first time in the 1957 Treaty of Rome with Article 119 until today, analysing its evolution through the Amsterdam and Lisbon Treaties and its inclusion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It then outlines the EU policies aimed at closing the gender pay gap. The study proceeds by examining the implementation of the principle through EU directives on gender equality and soft law documents. The practical application of the prohibition of wage discrimination through the prominent role of the Court of Justice and its most emblematic case law is then highlighted. The last chapter focuses on the evolution of the Italian legislation on the subject and the elimination of the gender pay gap in the legal system, in particular thanks to the recent Italian legal reform with the Law No. 162 of 5 November 2021.