Abstract

How the gender pay-gap is problematized plays an important role in how policy is implemented or challenged. This article looks at Norway and asks: how does a Nordic country famous for gender equality advances deal with a possible friction between its collective bargaining model and the gender pay gap based on the gendered labour market?  Based on document analysis and exploratory interviews we ask: What kind of problem is the gender pay-gap in the Norwegian labour market understood to be by the main trade union association? The aim of the paper is to interrogate how a particular part of the corporatist regime, namely the pattern bargaining model, is understood and problematized by the central trade union association that aims to represent all workers interest but has also evolved around the notion of the male-breadwinner model.