comparable worth

English

Noun

comparable worth (uncountable)

1. (chiefly US) The principle that there should be no difference in remuneration between jobs held mostly by women and jobs held mostly by men, when the women's work is comparable in skill, effort, working conditions, and responsibility to the men's work.
   • 1987, Linda M. Blum, “Possibilities and Limits of the Comparable Worth Movement,”, in Gender and Society, volume 1, number 4, page 382:

     Comparable worth aims to upgrade the wage scales for jobs that employ large numbers of women.

Usage notes

• Comparable worth pertains to workplace environments in which men are concentrated in specific job categories and women in other job categories. Equal pay for equal work pertains to workplace environments in which men and women occupy the same job categories.

Synonyms

• pay equity

See also

• equal pay for equal work