Taking stock: Further experiences in gender pay transparency implementation and effectiveness
Udgivet: 18 November 2025
Despite decades of policy efforts, the gender pay gap in the EU, 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.
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Dette afsnit indeholder oplysninger om de data, der er indeholdt i denne publikation.
List of tables
Table 1: Overview of legislative changes in the regulation of pay transparency measures from 2019 to January 2024
Table 2: Overview of pay transparency measures in the EU and Norway, as from 1 January 2024
Table 3: Overview of datasets, methods, main findings and conclusions of quantitative causal evaluations on the effects of pay transparency measures on gender pay gaps
Table 4: Table of contributors from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents
List of figures
Figure 1: Types of pay transparency instruments in the EU and Norway, as of 1 January 2024
Figure 2: Selective overview of provisions in the Pay Transparency Directive
Figure 3: Overview of the quantitative evaluations investigating the impact of pay transparency on the gender pay gap, by country
Eurofound anbefaler, at denne publikation citeres på følgende måde.
Eurofound (2025), Taking stock: Further experiences in gender pay transparency implementation and effectiveness, Eurofound research paper, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
Antal sider
47
Ref.nr.
EF25067
