Pay transparency measures and improved enforcement of equal pay legislation feature in a proposed directive published by the European Commission on 4 Mar 2021 that will now be considered by the European Parliament and other European Union (EU) organizations. The proposal aims to provide a legal framework for identifying hidden or nonintentional pay inequalities, and workers would have the right to access information about how their average pay compares to what their colleagues are paid for doing the same or equal work.
Existing equal pay protections in the EU include the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which provides men and women the right to equal pay for work of value; a 2006 directive that requires all employers to ensure equal pay for equal work or work of equal value; and a 2014 Commission recommendation on pay transparency. The current gender pay gap across the EU is 14.1%, and the gender pensions gap is 30%.