Germany and Austria are two countries with a comparably and persistently high gender pay gap. Further, both countries are classified as conservative welfare states where the male breadwinner model has been only partly modernized and strong corporatist structures shape working conditions. At the same time, welfare policy and provision are not only based on but also shape gender‐related norms, beliefs and assumptions that are virulent for job valuation and collective bargaining. Against this background the article analyses similarities and differences regarding the gender pay gap in Germany and Austria. While both countries show significant similarities regarding the causes for the gender pay gap, there are some differences regarding legislation and further policies with which the gender pay gap could be reduced. Arguing that the institutional framework strongly influences income opportunities for women and men, the article provides a sectoral analysis of the financial and insurance sector and the human health sector in both countries. Using qualitative data from a recent research project, it is argued that in the classification of a sector as ‘female’, the sectoral income level combined with different wage‐setting mechanisms have a crucial impact on wage inequalities between women and men.

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With a women's employment rate of 76.6 per cent, Germany now ranks among the top EU countries regarding equal labour market participation. However, substantial differences in the employment patterns of women and men persist in the form of 'typical' women's and men's jobs, women's underrepresentation in higher management, a high women's part-time rate and a considerable gender pay gap. Since 2005, four CDU-led governments have adopted various labour laws, with the most recent of these potentially transforming gendered inequalities. The 2016 corporate board quota law addressed vertical segregation, the 2017 pay transparency act is seen as a means of tackling the enormous gender pay gap and the legal entitlement to temporary part-time work, which came into force in 2019, may tackle the so-called 'part-time trap' many women fall victim to. The article examines the implementation impact of the latest labour market reforms and discusses the ways in which they are potential game-changers in transforming the German gendered labour market.

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This article shows that many political and academic debates on the future of work do not adequately take the gender structure of work into account, and argues that what is needed is not only the incorporation of gender into research, but a different methodological approach. This approach has to improve the dialogue between different scientific disciplines (interdisciplinary) and between researchers and actors in the practical world (cooperation between research and practice). In addition, research has to reflect upon and inspect its prejudices, taking into account that gendered structures are present in every aspect of our lives. This article describes how these ideas were realised through the development of ‘Forschungswerkstätten’ (research workshops) and reports on some experiences from the field. The article concludes by presenting some of the difficulties and perspectives of this approach.