International Equal Pay Day

  International Equal Pay Day, celebrated on 18 September, represents the longstanding efforts towards the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value. It further builds on the United Nations' commitment to human rights and against all forms of discrimination, including discrimination against women and girls.  

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Launch of the Global Learning Lab on Gender Equal Economies.

Launch of the Global Learning Lab on Gender Equal Economies

Launch of the 2nd Cohort of the EQUANOMICS Global Learning Lab on Gender Equal Economies.

The Launch of the 2nd Cohort of the EQUANOMICS Global Learning Lab on Gender Equal Economies.

Objectives 

Discuss Gender equality in turbulent times: Applying feminist economics in contexts of debt distress and changing economies. 

Present the results of the first cohort of the Global Learning Lab 

Launch the second cohort of Global Learning Lab and discuss the expectations of it. 

Watch Launch of the Global Learning Lab on Gender Equal Economies!

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Gender labour income gap.

In high-income countries, a women earn 73 cents and men 1 dollar; compare to low-income countries where women earn 44 cents and mean 1 dollar. Despite a drop in the global unemployment rate to 4.9% in 2024, the ILO reports persistent inequalities in the labour market. Women in low-income countries are particularly affected. Read more:

World Employment and Social Outlook: May 2024 Update

Taking into account the latest data, the report also analyses the current prospects for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) o

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A look at gender gains – and gaps – in the U.S.

Women made up 47% of the U.S. civilian labor force in 2023, up from 30% in 1950 – but growth has stagnated.

For Women’s History Month, a look at gender gains – and gaps – in the U.S.

Women made up 47% of the U.S. civilian labor force in 2023, up from 30% in 1950 – but growth has stagnated.

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Let's close the gender pay gap for good.

Equal pay for work of equal value.

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Global gender gap report 2023.

Gender parity in Europe (76.3%) surpasses the parity level in North America (75%) this year to rank first of eight geographic regions. Closely behind Europe and North America is Latin America and the Caribbean, with 74.3% parity. Trailing more than 5 percentage points behind Latin America and the Caribbean are Eurasia and Central Asia (69%) as well as East Asia and the Pacific (68.8%). SubSaharan Africa ranks 6th (68.2%), slightly below the global weighted average score (68.3%). Southern Asia (63.4%) overtakes the Middle East and North Africa (62.6%), which is, in 2023, the region furthest away from parity. – Across all subindexes, Europe has the highest gender parity of all regions at 76.3%, with one-third of countries in the region ranking in the top 20 and 20 out of 36 countries with at least 75% parity. Iceland, Norway and Finland are the best-performing countries, both in the region and in the world, while Hungary, Czech Republic and Cyprus rank at the bottom of the region. Overall, there is a decline of 0.2 percentage points in the regional score based on the constant sample of countries. At the current rate of progress, Europe is projected to attain gender parity in 67 years. – Just behind Europe, North America ranks second, having closed 75% of the gap, which is 1.9 percentage points lower than the previous edition. While Canada has registered a 0.2 percentage-point decline in the overall parity score since the last edition, the United States has seen a reduction of 2.1 percentage points. At the current rate of progress, 95 years will be needed to close the gender gap for the region. – With incremental progress towards gender parity since 2017, Latin America and the Caribbean has bridged 74.3% of its overall gender gap, a 1.7 percentage-point increase in overall gender parity since last year. After Europe and North America, the region has the third-highest level of parity. Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Jamaica register the highest parity scores in this region and Belize, Paraguay and Guatemala the lowest. At the current rate of progress, Latin America and the Caribbean will take 53 years to attain full gender parity.

– At 69% parity, Eurasia and Central Asia ranks 4th out of the eight regions on the overall Gender Gap Index. Based on the aggregated scores of the constant sample of countries included since 2006, the parity score since the 2020 edition has stagnated, although there has been an improvement of 3.2 percentage points since 2006. Moldova, Belarus and Armenia are the highest-ranking countries in the region, while Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Türkiye rank the lowest. The difference in parity between the highest and the lowest ranked country is 14.9 percentage points. At the current rate of progress, it will take 167 years for the Eurasia and Central Asia region to reach gender parity. – East Asia and the Pacific is at 68.8% parity, marking the fifth-highest score out of the eight regions. Progress towards parity has been stagnating for over a decade and the region registers a 0.2 percentage-point decline since the last edition. New Zealand, the Philippines and Australia have the highest parity at the regional level, with Australia and New Zealand also being the two most-improved economies in the region. On the other hand, Fiji, Myanmar and Japan are at the bottom of the list, with Fiji, Myanmar and Timor-Leste registering the largest declines. At the current rate of progress, it will take 189 years for the region to reach gender parity. – Sub-Saharan Africa’s parity score is the sixthhighest among the eight regions at 68.2%, ranking above Southern Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. Progress in the region has been uneven. Namibia, Rwanda and South Africa, along with 13 other countries, have closed more than 70% of the overall gender gap. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali and Chad are the lowest-performing countries, with scores below 62%. Based on the constant sample, this marks a marginal improvement of 0.1 percentage points. At the current rate of progress, it will take 102 years to close the gender gap in Sub-Saharan Africa. – Southern Asia has achieved 63.4% gender parity, the second-lowest score of the eight regions. The score has risen by 1.1 percentage points since the last edition on the basis of the constant sample of countries covered since 2006, which can be partially attributed to the rise in scores of populous countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Along with Bhutan, these are the countries in Southern Asia that have seen an improvement of 0.5 percentage points or more in their scores since the last edition. Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are the best-performing countries in the region, while Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are at the bottom of both the regional and global ranking tables. At the current rate of progress, full parity in the region will be achieved in 149 years. – In comparison to other regions, the Middle East and North Africa remains the furthest away from parity, with a 62.6% parity score. This is a 0.9 percentage-point decline in parity since the last edition for this region, based on the constant sample of countries covered since 2006. The United Arab Emirates, Israel and Bahrain have achieved the highest parity in the region, while Morocco, Oman and Algeria rank the lowest. The region’s three most populous countries – Egypt, Algeria and Morocco – register declines in their parity scores since the last edition. At the current rate of progress, full regional parity will be attained in 152 years.

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Share of companies which consider skills to be increasing in importance, ordered by the net difference.

Still less than 50% parity in the top-10 skills set to grow.

A persistent digital divide means women don’t have the same access to online learning that would enable them to upskill and future-proof their working lives. The report says that even when they do use these platforms, there are gender gaps in skilling. For enrolment in skills such as technological literacy (43.7% parity) and AI and big data (33.7%), which are among the top-10 skills projected to grow, there is less than 50% parity and “progress has been sluggish”.

Achieving parity in earnings and senior roles is crucial to closing the gender gap overall, the report’s authors stress: “Increasing women’s economic participation and achieving gender parity in leadership, in both business and government, are two key levers for addressing broader gender gaps in households, societies and economies.”

And collaboration will be key, the Forum adds: “Collective, coordinated and bold action by private- and public-sector leaders will be instrumental in accelerating progress towards gender parity and igniting renewed growth and greater resilience.”

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Share of women in STEM and non-STEM workforece, 2015-2023

While more women are taking up STEM jobs, retention rates have significantly dropped.

Science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupations are the jobs of the future, and will grow in significance and scope, the report predicts. Again, LinkedIn data shows that while women make up almost half (49.3%) of total employment across non-STEM occupations, they only account for 29.2% of all STEM workers. Even though the number of female STEM graduates taking up STEM jobs is increasing with every cohort, the retention rate, even one year after graduation, has seen a significant drop, the report says.

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Share of women in senior leadership, by industry, 2016-2023.

Very slow progress on women accessing senior leadership positions.

In many industries, women are still experiencing barriers to senior positions. 

Data from LinkedIn, covering 163 countries, shows that women account for 41.9% of the workforce in 2023, but the share of women in senior leadership positions – defined as Director, Vice-President, or C-Suite – is at 32.2% in 2023. Women’s representation drops to 25% in C-Suite roles on average. For the past eight years, the proportion of women hired into leadership positions has been steadily increasing by about 1%.

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Gender gap in labour-force participation, 2006-2023.

Labour force participation remains well below 2009 peak.

Post-pandemic, women have been returning to the labour market at a slightly higher rate than men, nudging up the participation rate to 64% from a low of 63% last year. That said, parity is still at the second-lowest point since the first edition of the index in 2006 and significantly below its 2009 peak of 69%.

And women continue to face higher unemployment rates than men. The global unemployment rate is currently at around 4.5% for women and 4.3% for men.

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How women’s economic participation has regressed.

#internationalequalpayday: These 4 charts show women’s economic participation has regressed

The World Economic Forum's Global gender gap report reveals longer time to parity for women in Economic Participation. #sdim23

International Equal Pay Day represents longstanding efforts towards the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value and falling during the United Nations General Assembly week in New York, the day is a reminder that "Mainstreaming of a gender perspective is crucial in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."

International Equal Pay Day builds on the UN's commitment to discrimination against women and girls around equal pay for work of equal value.

The 2023 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report showed that women’s economic participation had regressed, rather than recovered since the pandemic.

It will take 131 years to reach full parity.

A growing number of actors have recognized the importance and urgency of taking action.

“Women’s economic participation has regressed rather than recovered” since the pandemic, is how Saadia Zahidi Managing Director at the World Economic Forum summed up the findings of the 2023 Global Gender Gap Report.

"Achieving equal pay is an important milestone for human rights and gender equality. It takes the effort of the entire world community and more work remains to be done", according to the UN.

The Forum's Global Gender Gap Index provides vital benchmarks for measuring progress on the goals of achieving "decent work and economic growth by seeking full and productive employment... for all women and men".

The data measures the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key pillars: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and Political Empowerment. It was launched in 2006, making it the longest-standing index tracking the progress of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing the gender gap.

Progress since then has been slow and, at the current rate, it will take 131 years to reach full parity. The global gender gap score in 2023 for all 146 countries surveyed is 68.4% closed – a 0.3-point improvement on last year.

Women’s economic opportunities remain a particular concern. Women’s participation in the labour market has slipped in recent years, and other markers of progress maintain big gaps between women and men.

“Recent years have seen major setbacks and the state of gender parity still varies widely by company, industry and economy. Yet, a growing number of actors have recognized the importance and urgency of taking action, and evidence on effective gender parity initiatives is solidifying,’’ the report says.

Here are 4 charts from the report that show the parity gap at work.

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How companies can move the needle through the equal pay international coalition?

A OECD EMnet-EPIC Webinar entitled ‘‘How companies can move the needle through the equal pay international coalition.” was held on Monday, September 11th, from 15:00 – 16:00 CEST | 9:00 – 10:00 EDT; This online event will feature discussions on the collaborative efforts led by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UN Women, and the OECD to champion the principle of achieving equal pay for women and men worldwide, along with the pivotal role of the private sector in committing to this target .Register to participate.

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Standing up for equal pay.

You are invited attend a High-Level Pledging Event to mark International Equal Pay Day 2023 on Monday, September 18th from 6 to 8:30pm EDT at the w. Westin New York Grand Central. The event entitled :“Standing up for equal pay – celebrating achievements and understanding challenges”, aims to give countries an opportunity to make new equal pay pledges. It is organized by the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), which is led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) , the UN Women, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

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Trade unions in action.

To mark UN International Equal Pay Day, 18 September, the ITUC is celebrating success stories from trade unions around the world that have campaigned to tackle the gender pay gap.

The briefing, Trade union action to promote equal pay for work of equal value, includes case studies from Chile, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru and the UK where unions have used social dialogue, campaigning and collective bargaining to win positive legislation, workplace policies and collective agreements.

On Equal Pay Day 2023, the ITUC Acting General Secretary, Luc Triangle, will be speaking at a high-level event of the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC): “The ITUC has been a member of EPIC since its founding by the UN General Assembly in September 2017. In that time a lot has been achieved, but progress is stalling.

“The main objective is to accelerate the pace of closing the gender pay gap to achieve equal pay for work of equal value by 2030 – a target of Sustainable Development Goal 8. This is central to the New Social Contract that demands fair wages, including minimum living wages, good quality, climate-friendly jobs and equality and inclusion for all.

“That is why we’re not just calling for 575 million new jobs. These jobs must be decent jobs, and one billion informal jobs, where women are overrepresented, must be formalised.

“A huge step towards this would by investing much more in care, as our report shows. The ILO estimates that investing in universal childcare and long-term care along would create 280 million jobs by 2030, it would boost the employment rate of women by 78%, and 84% of these jobs would be formal.

“It’s inspiring to see what so many trade unions are doing around the world to work towards equal pay for work of equal value. It’s time for every government around the world to do the same,” said Luc Triangle.

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Equal pay for work of equal value is necessary to close the gender pay gap.

The gender pay gap, hard truths and actions needed

India is among the most important countries when it comes to the global economic growth and structural transformation story. A commensurate

Closing the gender pay gap is key to achieving social justice for working women, as well as economic growth for the nation as a whole.

Equal pay for work of equal value is necessary to close the gender pay gap. Closing the gender pay gap is key to achieving social justice for working women, as well as economic growth for the nation as a whole.

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Closing gender pay gaps is more important than ever.

Closing gender pay gaps is more important than ever 

On average, women globally are paid about 20 per cent less than men, the International Labour (ILO) Organization said on Sunday, Internation

On average, women globally are paid about 20% less than men, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Sunday, International Equal Pay Day.

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Encourage employers across the globe to offer equal pay across genders for work of equal value.

Applaud International Equal Pay Day on 18 September – a day which encourages employers across the globe to offer equal pay across genders for work of equal value.

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We need a new social contract to close the gender pay gap. ITUC

International Equal Pay Day: We need a new social contract to close the gender pay gap

On International Equal Pay Day, 18 September, the ITUC calls on all governments to adopt laws and reforms to close the persistent global ge