Abstract
This paper is an exploration of the concept “equal value” as it applies to pay equity. Following a brief discussion of several standard objections to pay equity legislation, the paper considers a number of different criteria which are employed in determining equal value or worth. Two in particular are isolated for extended discussion: the desert and the contribution criteria. The paper concludes with a major concern about the phrase “equal value to the employer.” This concern becomes pressing once the desert and contribution criteria are distinguished.
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Wil Waluchow is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at McMaster University. He has published several articles in legal philosophy and ethics and is the co-author of Well and Good: Case Studies in Biomedical Ethics (with J. E. Thomas, 1987) and the co-editor of Business Ethics in Canada (with D. Poff, 1987).
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Waluchow, W. Pay equity: Equal value to whom?. J Bus Ethics 7, 185–189 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381866
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381866