This historical case law, was the first case that showed a clear inequality between women and men (gender pay gap). That is why in this case the direct effect of Article 119 of the EEC Treaty was granted. But, the direct effect of this Article had no retroactive effect. It was only applied from the date of this judgement or in some cases where workers brought legal proceedings or made an equivalent claim previously.

The CJEU also claimed in this judgement that the prohibition on discrimination extends to all agreements which are intended to regulate paid labour collectively, as well as to contracts between individuals.