If job postings would be realistic and true they would sound like this: “company seeks competent male engineer with 5 years of experience and confidence” and “company seeks competent female engineer with 5 years of experience, who is kind and reassuring and a team player and willing to shop for water and cookies when the office runs out of it, so in a nutshell she helps to create a supportive working environment”.
If you also have flashbacks at this point, I can relate: how many times has it been that male leaders asked female colleagues to find out what is really going on in the company or asked them to write a letter about Christmas parties, let alone organise it on the top of their daily assignments. Invisible labour does not only exist at home, but it is very present at workplaces as well.
Invisible labour, unpaid, unregulated and unacknowledged emotional labour are just a couple of things that contribute to gender pay gaps.
How does the EU gender pay gap look at this moment? According to Figure 1, the 2022 statistical data from the member states, women’s gross hourly earnings were 12.7% below that of men in the EU.
In the EU, Estonian women have it the worst: their gross hourly wage is less than 4/5 of their male counterparts. Note: Everything is a matter of perspective: the Saudi gender pay gap is currently 49%, so Estonians are far from being the worst. In Luxemburg women actually earn one percent more than males do, well done, Luxemburg. It is very seldom that Belgium, Italy and Romania are in the same company, but here you go: these Southern-Eastern-Western countries small and big, old and new member states are somehow on the same level when minding the pay gap.
The EU has had enough: from 2025 all companies with more than 100 employees must have transparency pay requirements: job listings must declare the salary, employers cannot ask about previous salaries, when employees inquire about their fellow colleague’s salary, they must receive an answer if the fellow colleague is in the same job category, and salary categories must be gender neutral. And wait there's more: the EU Pay Transparency Directive requires companies to have specific metrics that compare salaries and these metrics will tell the world about the gender pay gap at each and every company.
When there is a 5% gap between employees in the same category of work, the company has six months to correct the gap or must implement a gender action plan.
European and Hungarian firms need to take this directive into consideration when drawing up their business and contingency plans. But how do you suggest we do that? – comes the frustrated question. There are some huge and mostly multinational companies who publish their reports. Aldi Global has identified principles that match the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles https://www.weps.org/ , and grouped their targets and measures in subcategories. IKEA has carried out an extensive survey identifying the crucial need for mentorship and leadership programs, which also lead to restructuring recruitment campaigns.
Although you can find many best practices on the Internet, it is more professional and timesaving if you turn to companies that have been doing this for a while. WeAreOpen can suggest tailor-made solutions. From mapping and analysing the gender pay gap in your company to setting up a 2-year action plan We Are Open can facilitate the needed transition in your offices. The lawmakers have declared their wishes: companies need to mind the gender pay gap. Let us assist you in closing it, while you can be busy with your core business activities.
Ágnes Holtzer
Sources:
https://www.payanalytics.com/resources/guides/eu-pay-transparency-directive-rules
https://sustainability.aldisouthgroup.com/files/2021-gender-equality-action-plan
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/files/pdf/f2/86/f2868b29/ikea-2023-uk-gender-pay-gap.pdf
