The lack of pay transparency has been identified as one of the key obstacles to closing the gender pay gap, which remains at around 13% on average in the EU in 2020. This means that women earn on average 13% less than men per hour.

On 17 May 2023, new EU rules on pay transparency joined the statute book. Pay transparency is crucial to ensuring that substantial progress is made in closing the gender pay gap. It addresses the hidden, systematic undervaluation of women’s work at the heart of the persistent gender pay inequalities. The Directive includes a ban on pay secrecy clauses, which have allowed unequal pay to persist, as well as reporting requirements for companies and measures empowering trade unions to tackle pay discrimination through collective bargaining agreements with employers.

Member States have three years to transpose the legislation. Together with the ETUC, industriAll Europe has been calling for rapid adoption of the new rules as any delays come at a rising cost for women across Europe, with women workers facing an average of €17,000 in lost wages (2023-26). ‘Why wait?’, the participants in the seminar in Rome asked. 

Judith Kirton-Darling, Acting Joint General Secretary of industriAll Europe, spoke at the seminar: 

“It’s really impressive to see the Italian metal sectoral social partners’ proactive approach towards pay transparency. The Treaty of Rome included the right to equal pay between men and women in Europe in 1957, but a lack of transparency about how pay systems are structured and how work is evaluated have made this a theoretical right for many. It’s time that equal pay for work of equal value is a reality for all in Europe. This legislation is key to achieving this goal. Following the last metal industry collective agreement’s new provisions on gender equality and violence against women, it’s great to see the sectoral social partners engaging in the gender pay gap. IndustriAll Europe encourages all unions and sectors to follow suit!”