The global gender pay gap remains persistently high despite decades of commitments, and closing it requires coordinated action and deliberate policies, according to a new publication from the International Labour Organization (ILO). The report, Pay Equity: A Comprehensive Response to the Gender Pay Gap, introduces a Theory of Change and Intervention Model emphasizing that laws, wage policies, pay transparency, objective job evaluation, social dialogue, labour inspection, social protection, care policies, and targeted actions are essential to reducing gender pay disparities and challenging stereotypes.
Women in wage employment globally still earn on average 20 per cent less than men, with even larger gaps for women with children, those in informal work, women with disabilities, and migrant women. Meanwhile, transformations such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, demographic shifts, and rising care needs are reshaping labour markets, creating both risks of widening inequalities and opportunities to close the gap.
Building on the ILO’s 2013 Equal Pay Guide, the publication proposes a comprehensive “whole-of-society” approach to achieving equal pay for work of equal value. It reflects policy developments since 2013, including expanded pay transparency laws, new tools for objective job evaluation, technological innovations, and stronger connections between pay equity and minimum and living wage policies. The guide adopts a life-course perspective, highlighting how unpaid care work, career breaks, and part-time work contribute to lower pay and a gender pension gap, and emphasizes informal work and intersecting forms of discrimination.
Targeted at governments, employers’ organizations, and workers’ organizations, the guide also reaches a wider audience by combining data, legal analysis, policy guidance, and practical examples from countries worldwide. Many examples draw from the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), a global initiative coordinated by the ILO, OECD, and UN Women, showcasing effective laws, pay transparency measures, job evaluation tools, and wage policies that are already making a measurable difference.
Towards Pay Equity is also a call to action for stronger global commitments, new policy tools, and greater public attention to ensure that the conditions for pay equity are met. The guide reinforces that equal pay for work of equal value is not only a fundamental right and workplace principle but also an economic and social necessity with benefits for all. The publication was developed with support from the French Government under the France–ILO Partnership.
