On Tuesday 24 October, the European Parliament’s Committee on Gender Equality (FEMM) discussed the pay and pension gap between men and women with the Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli. The meeting provided an opportunity to review the implementation of the ‘salary transparency’ directive (see EUROPE 13153/13).
Pay gap
Asked about progress on this directive by Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Greens/EFA, Danish), Ms Dalli pointed out that as the deadline for implementation was June 2026, it was too early to assess the situation. However, she did specify that the European Commission would be organising three meetings with the Member States dedicated to implementation, the first of which would take place in spring 2024.
Evelyn Regner (S&D, Austrian) also called on the Commission to get closer to companies, which are reluctant to have an additional administrative burden, stressing that methods as simple as an “Excel sheet” can help to track down pay inequalities.
Ms Dalli replied that the Commission planned to support the development of methodologies and tools for employers to identify comparable jobs and correct unjustified pay gaps. “We will dedicate €4 million under the CERV programme to support grants in member states to develop such job evaluation methodologies”, she announced, adding that the first call would be in November.
MEPs have also pointed out that the 2023 gender equality index shows “persistent segregation” in the labour market (see EUROPE 13278/20). In addition to legislation, Ms Dalli stressed the need to tackle sexist stereotypes (see EUROPE 13137/25).
Pension inequalities
With regard to the pension gap (30% in 2019), the Commission has “invested in a thorough assessment of the gender equality angle in the EU pension systems”, explained the Commissioner. At the same time, it has “launched a dedicated study to explore the provision of pension credits for care related career breaks in occupational pension schemes”.
Annika Bruna (ID, French) called for EU countries to be encouraged to compensate pensions for the “interrupted and weak careers of women who have chosen to bring up their children”. Instead, Ms Dalli stressed the importance of getting “the 8 million women in the EU who are qualified and want to participate in the labour market, but who are unable to do so because of their care responsibilities” back to work, by adapting working hours or extending free personal assistance services.
The debate was held as part of the European Parliament’s Equality Week, and just a few weeks before European Equal Pay Day. Set for 15 November 2023, it represents the day of the year when women symbolically stop being paid less than men. Although it has been postponed over the years, “this is hardly enough as women’s average gross hourly earnings remains 12.7% less than men’s”, Ms Dalli insisted. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)