female staff with patient in ICU
Women in the health and care sector face a larger gender pay gap than in other economic sectors, earning on average of 24 per cent less than peers who are men (ILO/WHO 2022).
Photo:ILO/Crozet M.

Equal pay for work of equal value

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.

Across all regions, women are paid less than men, with the gender pay gap estimated at around 20 per cent globally. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls continue to be held back owing to the persistence of historical and structural unequal power relations between women and men, poverty and inequalities and disadvantages in access to resources and opportunities that limit women’s and girls’ capabilities. Progress on narrowing that gap has been slow. While equal pay for men and women has been widely endorsed, applying it in practice has been difficult.

In order to ensure that no one is left behind, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address the need to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Furthermore, the SDGs promote decent work and economic growth by seeking full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. Mainstreaming of a gender perspective is crucial in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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. The United Nations, including UN Women and the International Labour Organization (ILO) invites Members states and civil society, women’s and community-based organizations and feminist groups, as well as businesses and workers’ and employers’ organizations, to promote equal pay for work of equal value and the economic empowerment of women and girls.

Equal Pay International Coalition

The Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) is led by the ILO, UN Women, and OECD. The Coalition’s goal is to achieve equal pay for women and men everywhere. By bringing together a diverse set of actors with different areas of focus and expertise, EPIC supports governments, employers, workers, and their organizations to make concrete and coordinated progress towards this goal. EPIC is currently the only multi-stakeholder partnership working to reduce the gender pay gap at the global, regional and national levels.

Did you know?

  • Women earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn for work of equal value – with an even wider wage gap for women with children.
  • Women are more likely to be unemployed than men worldwide, with wide disparities regionally.
  • It is estimated that only 28 per cent of women employed worldwide get to enjoy paid maternity leave.
  • Globally, nearly 65 per cent of people above retirement age without any regular pension are women.
  • Women carry out at least two and a half times more unpaid household and care work than men.
More facts from UN Women

Event

EPIC 2023

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

Date: Monday, 11 September 2023

Time: 15:00 – 16:00 CEST | 9:00 – 10:00 EDT

Register

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COVID-19 has shone a light on the critical importance of health and care workers, who were applauded and celebrated. It also laid bare the extent of inequalities workers in this highly feminized sector have been facing for decades. It is for this reason that the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization co-developed the first ever global sectoral gender pay gap report.

 

A woman wearing a hardhat works at a construction site.

Realizing women’s economic empowerment requires transformative change so that prosperity is equitably shared and no one is left behind. The international community has made this commitment in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Every woman should enjoy her right to decent work. As a global champion for women’s empowerment, UN Women asks: What do we need to get there?

 

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International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.