Grounds of earnings determination in the new Hungary : the gender dimension

• Main Author: Jentsch, Birgit E.
• Published: University of Edinburgh 1997
• Subjects: 337
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.652998

This research dealt with considerations which have underlain the determination of earnings in post-socialist Hungary, as well as policy-makers' opinions on criteria which ought to influence the pay distribution. The focus was thereby on the value positions adopted, and on their likely consequences for gender inequality in pay. The main method used to elicit these norms was interviews with management and trade union representatives of the 'light' and the 'heavy' industry. The interview schedule and data analysis were informed by various theoretical approaches to earnings disparities. Theoretical propositions commonly advanced in economic and sociological literature dealing with gender inequalities in employment were covered; and principles which may influence decisions on a particular distribution of earnings were identified and included. The data collected on this basis required some insight into the nature of industrial relations in Hungary's past and present. This facilitated a better understanding of the particular views advanced by trade unionists and management. The study revealed that few signs existed of any overt and systematic devaluation of women's skills and qualifications. However, the wish to adhere to 'traditional arrangements' in the distribution of jobs and earnings proved a central theme. This coincided with an explicit or implicit approval of the (male) breadwinner model; with the proposed ideal of a primarily domestic role for women; and with particular ways in which job aspects often found in men's and women's work were evaluated, and compensated for. Inferences from our data were made for some aspects of the identified principles of earnings determination: in the light of the data, the specific experiences of women due to their different working conditions and their double-role were found to have been neglected by these principles, which claim to provide generally applicable grounds for the determination of earnings levels. Suggestions were made about the issues which the principles would have to incorporate in order to remove their gender bias.