The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has mainly affected working women and caregivers. The new Directive will establish a binding obligation for companies to publish the pay gap between their workers as well as introduce sanctions for those who do not comply with the principle of equal pay. On 17 March, the European Parliament’s position on the new European Directive on Pay Transparency will be approved in the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights, thus, marking a milestone towards strengthening the principle of equality at European Union level. Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Strengthening the Implementation of the Principle of Equal Pay for Men and Women Without a thorough assessment that allows us to identify the main obstacles, it is not possible to move forward.
Equal pay day professional#
However, during the past 60 years, and despite the great improvements made by women in their social and professional life, different policies and Directives have failed to close this gender gap. The right to equal pay is a fundamental right recognized in EU treaties, such as the 1957 Treaty of Rome and Article 157 TFEU, as well as in Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Rather, favour treatment and the culture of promotion among men, as well as gender stereotypes and the unfair distribution of care work, among other factors, are part of the causes that perpetuate these inequalities. These figures are not due to the fact that men are better prepared or that women have less interest in managerial or political positions. Similarly, in 2021, only 30.5 % of European policy-makers were women. According to data from the European Institute for Equality, in 2018 women only represented 26 % of all board members of the largest companies registered in the EU.
Meanwhile, there is a male overrepresentation in leadership positions. The sectoral and hierarchical segregation of women means that, unfortunately, women have a greater presence in precarious, part-time and lower-paid jobs. Gender pay discrimination and hierarchical segregation It is in our hands to make this legislative instrument one that will help us progress towards equal pay. The European Parliament is now preparing its position on the new proposal for a European Directive on Pay Transparency, presented by the European Commission in March 2021. Despite different policies and recommendations, these percentages have remained unchanged over the past decade. According to the European Commission’s data for Spain on 2021, women earned up to 11.9 % less than their male counterparts did.
This means that every year European women work “for free” 50 days or, rather, that for every euro earned by a man, a woman in the same position only earns 86 cents. In fact, t he gender pay gap in the European Union is 14 %. No equal pay for men and women exists in Europe.