Doesn't equal pay legislation mean that in practise if you got a pay rise, assuming you're male, that any female doing what might appear in court to be the same job has to get the same pay rise??
IANAL, but I think that's what's sticky about equal pay, or one thing.
For a given job, not all _people_ will get the same pay, and as individuals, a particular man and a particular woman may not make the same, but across an organization we should find some balance, there should be women who make more than some men, etc..
I don't think anyone wants a situation where granting any individual a raise means that everyone with similar responsibilities (no two people 'do the same job') gets the same raise.
But as I type this, it's clear how all of this grey area can (and surely IS) be leaned upon to maintain the status quo.
For a given job, not all _people_ will get the same pay, and as individuals, a particular man and a particular woman may not make the same, but across an organization we should find some balance, there should be women who make more than some men, etc..
I don't think anyone wants a situation where granting any individual a raise means that everyone with similar responsibilities (no two people 'do the same job') gets the same raise.
But as I type this, it's clear how all of this grey area can (and surely IS) be leaned upon to maintain the status quo.