Global leaders pledge to take action to close gender pay gap

Global leaders from governments, private sector companies, trade unions and civil society have pledged to take concrete action towards closing the gender pay gap by 2030.

The global commitments – to ensure women in every sector of the workforce are paid equally to men for doing work of equal value – were made at the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) Pledging event held during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Unequal pay has been prioritised in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and is linked to other global challenges, including reducing poverty and creating the conditions for decent work.

The Principals of the EPIC Secretariat pledged to accelerate progress on reducing the gender pay gap by convening global leaders to share experiences, documenting and disseminating good practice and drawing global political attention to the issue of gender pay inequality.

One of the Principals is Secretary-General of the OECD, Angel Gurría who said: “Gender pay gaps are not only unfair for those who suffer them, but they are also detrimental to our economies. If you do not have equal pay productivity suffers, competitiveness suffers and the economy at large suffers.”

Global leaders were in attendance including President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, and pledged to achieve equal pay by:

• implementing legislation that prohibits unequal remuneration in the public and private sectors,
• establishing National Commissions that monitor the compliance of equal remuneration laws
• and launching national awareness campaigns on the importance of equal pay.

The Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, said: “A strong social protection system is critical to reducing the gender pay gap – where women have access to paid maternity leave, to affordable child and elderly care services, and to sustainable infrastructure, we see an increase in women engaging in paid work. This will be the theme of next year’s Commission on the Status of Women, and I count on support from the EPIC to accelerate progress on improving social protection systems.”

Pledges made to close the gender pay gap at the event include:

• The President of Iceland, H.E. Guoni Th. Johannesson, committed to implement its Law on Equal Pay Certification.  Under the legislation, companies and government agencies with more than 25 employees are required to obtain government certification for their equal-pay policies. Those failing to demonstrate pay equality face fines.
• The International Trade Union Confederation has pledged to raise awareness of initiatives that aim to achieve equal pay through advocacy campaigns on investment in childcare, establishing minimum living levels and guaranteeing social protection to care workers.
• The International Organisation of Employers has pledged to strengthen its actions to promote gender equality and non-discrimination good practices as part of its commitment to preserve and defend Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, while paying special attention to gender-based discrimination in pay.
• Civil Society organisations including Save the Children and CIVICUS pledged to support its members to reduce the wage gap and to conduct internal reviews of its pay policies to ensure internal equity between men and women.

Global companies also participated, including IKEA, Deloitte, Pepsi Co, Nestle and Novartis AG, who expressed their allegiance to EPIC’s mission by committing to, for example:

• review hiring and promotional practices to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers,
• identify and promote best practices that ensure fairness for all workers
• and to implement policies prohibiting discrimination based on gender.

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• Gender Pay Gap