Debate: Gender pay gap
Date: MONDAY, 13 JANUARY 2020
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

We are on exactly the same page on this. Pay discrimination has gone on for too long. The principle of equal pay has been in the Treaty since 1957, but women are still being paid an average of 16% less than men in Europe. It is high time for further action. President von der Leyen has entrusted me with the task to develop a new European gender equality strategy to address areas in which women still face additional barriers. I will give equality in the world of work its due attention by putting forward proposals for pay transparency. The Commission envisages presenting a new gender equality strategy in the first week of March. The aim is to have a strong ambitious and overarching approach, with specific measures to close the gender pay gap. Equal pay will be a key principle of the new strategy, and the Commission will act as regards measures on pay transparency. We have had a non-binding recommendation for five years now, which gave Member States a toolbox of measures to enforce the equal-pay principle. Some Member States have introduced the measures, but many have not. Because there is a lack of transparency, many women do not even know that they are being underpaid. Work typically done by women is systematically and structurally underpaid compared to work typically done by men, even when it is work of equal value. This is why transparency is such an important issue. I will be looking at a broad range of options when working on the scope of the pay transparency proposals, from giving employees information on pay levels to requiring companies to report on pay levels and analyse such data in audits. I am aware that introducing binding pay transparency measures is challenging. While we want to strengthen the rights of employees to get more information about pay levels, we also need to recognise that some of the possible measures may add administrative burdens for employers. It is therefore imperative to consult employers, employees and national administrations to find the right balance for such EU intervention. Let’s also not forget that increasing pay transparency is only one of the steps towards addressing the gender pay gap. Closing this gap requires a comprehensive approach addressing all its root causes: a lower participation of women in the labour market; a higher use of part-time and career breaks by women when compared to men; vertical and horizontal segregation on the labour market; and gender stereotypes and discrimination. Another thing. Women are over-represented in work of precarious nature. They are the vast majority of part-time workers and often opt for variable hours and temporary contracts. This is another factor which significantly reinforces gender gaps. In in this regard, the Commission will work closely with Member States to ensure that binding legal acts are properly implemented, and to assist Member States in taking utmost advantage of other legal provisions. This includes the recommendation on access to social protection, the Directive on Part-Time Work, the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, and, of course, the Work-Life Balance Directive. I intend to work closely with the European Parliament throughout this process and I look forward to listening to your views today.