Gender pay gap in an organisational perspective

The project responds to the fact that the gender pay gap (GPG) in the Czech Republic remains high compared to other EU countries. In 2022, the average GPG in the Czech Republic was 18%, compared to 13% in EU countries. Research from abroad shows that the GPG is mainly created in organisations/workplaces embedded in a specific cultural and institutional context.

The research, therefore, aims to find out how the organisational environment influences the level of GPG in companies and organisations. The research is mainly based on the theory of organisational inequality regimes and related theoretical concepts. The use of a mixed research approach allows for the observation of the influence of different organisational characteristics on GPG at the marco level, as well as the observation of the processes and mechanisms that shape GPG at the micro level. In the quantitative research, we analyse data from a unique survey, the Average Earnings Information System, using statistical methods based on multiple linear regression, which allows us to observe the relationship between organisational characteristics and the gender pay gap in different sectors of the labour market and according to different variables. As part of the qualitative research, we will conduct approximately 40 in-depth interviews in selected workplaces from the public and private sectors with varying degrees of feminisation of employment and GPG levels. Qualitative data collection and analysis will be carried out using the constructivist grounded theory method.

The combination of statistical analysis of a large dataset linking employees to employers (Linked Employer-Employee Data or LEED) and qualitative research in selected workplaces will provide an understanding of the formation of GPGs based on different organisational characteristics, processes and actors. Linking the results of both types of research should provide a deeper understanding of the formation of pay inequality in different organisational settings, in addition to a comparison with the results of national and international research on this topic.