"Equal pay for equal work" has become the excepted norm in most western economies over the last 40 years. However in many economies women on average continue to earn less than men. While legislation may have eradicated the most obvious forms of gender discrimination, unobserved factors may still inhibit real pay equality amongst men and women in work. .
Northern Ireland performs well on measures of the gender pay gap, better than the UK as a whole. Much research has focussed on the international differences in the gender pay gap and this Research InBrief seeks to understand why Northern Ireland performs well and what can be learnt from that.