Direct discrimination. 1  Some women are paid less than men for doing the same job. 2  This factor only explains a small part of the gender pay gap, due to the effectiveness of the European Union and national legislation. The gender pay gap is also reinforced by the segregation in the labour market. 2  Women and men still tend to work in different jobs. 3  On the one hand, women and men often predominate in different sectors. 4  On the other hand, within the same sector or company women predominate in lower valued and lower paid occupations.