The project

In the canton of Vaud, the Public Procurement and Grants Monitoring Committees (CoMPS for its acronym in French) conducts gender pay equality audits by using the Swiss Confederation's standard analysis tool (Logib).

Since Logib was introduced, it has undergone several scientific studies to ensure that it is best suited to the reality of the labour market. These scientific discussions are centred around the preparation of the data as well as the statistical aspects associated with the analyses carried out with Logib.

In this context, the Office for Equality between Women and Men (BEFH for its acronym in French) of the State of Vaud commissioned CORESO to perform a conceptual and empirical analysis on concerned statistical elements and to evaluate the distribution of these results according to the relevant statistical tests.

Our contribution

Thanks to the solid experience of our research team in the field of gender equality in Switzerland, as well as its track record in econometrics and statistical analysis, a detailed empirical study has been produced. The study examines how the distribution of outcomes varies according to the characteristics of the employing entities and statistical elements of the model. To reach the highest representativeness level possible, CORESO used data from thousands of employing entities included in the 2018 Swiss Structure of Earnings Survey (SES).

The result

The study reveals the different distributions of outcomes according to the characteristics of the employing entities and the parameters of the Logib analytical model. On the one hand, it shows that 19.1% of entities do not respect equal pay when a 5% tolerance threshold is applied, while this proportion rises to 50.2% when no tolerance threshold figures. On the other hand, it also finds that entities with a higher proportion of women among their workforce and, particularly, as part of their management are more respectful of equal pay. This analysis will allow policy makers to better understand the implications of possible adjustments to the model and thereby contribute to decision-making based on solid empirical evidence. The conceptual insights provided in this research will also serve as an element for discussion among experts who conduct equal pay controls, and so contribute to continuous improvement.

Link to access the study (only in French): Réflexion empirique sur le seuil de tolérance utilisé lors des contrôles de l'égalité salariale