Gender Pay Differentials and Equality Legislation in the Republic of Ireland

The authors analyze Ireland's experience with equality legislation since the passage of the Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act of 1974 and the Employment Equality Act of 1977. After providing a detailed analysis of how the Acts function, they econometrically estimate the effects of equality legislation on the female-male pay gap in Ireland. Although there has been a pronounced increase in the female pay ratio since about 1975, the authors find that only a very small part of this increase can be attributed to equality legislation.