EU sex discrimination law and the principle of equal pay

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Law - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,7, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Rechtswissenschaften), course: Advanced Lectures in EU Economic Law, language: English, abstract: The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, said in his speech on 8th March 2011 'Every day women in Europe experience one of the most deep-rooted injustices - being paid less than a man for work of equal value.' Equality between women and men is one of the objectives of the European Union. With the aid of legislation, case law and amendments to the contracts it had gradually succeeded to give emphasis to this principle and apply it in the EU. This work will now try to show you this development. In the beginning, there will be a description of legal framework in the EU. This framework essentially bases on Article 157 TFEU and the Directive 2006/54. Afterwards follows the development of case studies by the jurisprudence of the ECJ in more detail. Keep on with the content of Article 157 TFEU with a closer look on the questions: What is pay? What is equal pay for equal work or work of equal value? When exists discrimination? What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination? 'Well come forward, but still long way to go': So the initial assessment of the agreement is to promote equal opportunities between women and men in the private sector. Is it right and more: is it enough? Let's see if this question can be answered at the end of this work.