Equal Pay Day serves as a stark reminder that women globally still earn roughly 20 per cent less than men, effectively working for free for the final two months of the year. UN Women’s Gender Snapshot 2025 emphasizes that achieving gender equality is not only a human rights imperative but also a significant economic opportunity, with potential to add $4 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Despite the private sector’s immense influence on jobs, capital, and innovation, progress remains slow, highlighting the urgent need for corporate action.
Recent successes in sports demonstrate that historic equal pay victories are achievable. The US women’s national soccer team secured a landmark equal pay deal in 2022, and FIFA has since committed to narrowing prize money gaps. Tennis now offers equal prize money across all Grand Slam tournaments, with further support through UN Women’s HeForShe partnership. The World Surf League and major FIVB volleyball competitions have also achieved pay parity. However, inequalities persist in less-commercialized sports and regions, as well as in sponsorship and media coverage, with no women among the top 50 highest-paid athletes on the Forbes 2023 list. These cases show that even where progress exists, gender disparities remain.
The business case for equal pay is clear. Gender parity could contribute $342 trillion cumulatively by 2050, while companies with gender-diverse executive teams are 25 per cent more likely to outperform in profitability. In emerging markets, boards with gender diversity generate 2.4 times higher returns. Despite this, women occupy only 30 per cent of management roles and 7 per cent of CEO positions globally, and only 20 per cent of economies enforce equal pay laws with audits or reporting. Without stronger accountability, voluntary pledges risk becoming symbolic rather than transformative.
Sports offer valuable lessons for the private sector. Collective action, transparency, demonstrating the value of parity, targeted investment, and universal progress are all critical to achieving equality. Companies can apply these lessons by publishing pay gaps, supporting work-life balance and unpaid care work, and building women’s leadership pipelines. Examples include Brazil’s pay transparency law, Iceland’s Equal Pay Certification, and initiatives in Latin America and Asia–Pacific to scale care enterprises and enhance women’s representation in leadership.
Achieving equal pay is not only a moral obligation but an economic strategy. By acting now to disclose pay gaps, invest in care, and advance women’s leadership, companies can close gender disparities, unlock trillions in economic growth, and future-proof their businesses. The urgency is clear: gender equality in the workplace cannot wait, and the private sector must lead the charge to make equality the standard.
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