Taking stock: Further experiences in gender pay transparency implementation and effectiveness

Despite decades of policy efforts, the gender pay gap in the European Union, while slowly decreasing, is still persistent. In 2023, the Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) was adopted, with the intent of advancing existing national approaches by mandating comprehensive transparency instruments, expanding reporting requirements, reinvigorating the ‘work of equal value’ principle, and shifting the burden of proof from workers to employers in discrimination cases, among the most significant developments. This report assesses the current state of pay transparency measures across EU Member States, evaluating their effectiveness based on limited official evaluations and growing academic research. Findings reveal mixed results, with successful gap reduction in some contexts, but no significant effects in others. Pay transparency success depends critically on design features, including mandatory implementation, public reporting, active employer disclosure and robust enforcement mechanisms. At the same time, effective implementation of pay transparency measures has been seen to face several challenges, including low or limited awareness, resource constraints and difficulties applying the ‘work of equal value’ principle. Beyond gender equality, pay transparency, under the right conditions, has the potential to generate opportunities for improved competitiveness, as it can boost talent attraction and retention and facilitate the adoption of technology within firms.