EU Pay Transparency Legislation to Address Gender Pay Inequity: What is on the Horizon and its Likely Impact in Ireland

Abstract

After years of scarce legislative developments, EU equality law seems to be gaining momentum, at least in the field of gender equality. Following the adoption of the Work-Life Balance Directive in 2019, in March 2021 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay through pay transparency. Additionally, after a decade of discussion, a political agreement was finally reached in June 2022 to adopt the “Women on Boards” Directive. Given the complex causes of gender inequality – including gender pay inequity – such a combination of measures may bring about a powerful toolbox to make progress in the right direction. This article only focuses on one of them: the Proposed Directive on pay transparency, which contains a reasonably comprehensive set of substantive and enforcement measures. In particular, it discusses the potential and limitations of the Proposed Directive’s key substantive measures, while also giving consideration to the impact that this instrument might have in Ireland.

Keywords: EU Equality Law; Gender Equality; Pay Equity; Gender Pay Gap; Pay Transparency

JEL Classification: J08; J71