International Equal Pay Day

The global effort to promote gender equality, empower women and girls, and combat gender discrimination is at the cornerstone of the Agenda 2030 and, more specifically, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5. SDG 5 underscores that gender-based discrimination hinders progress towards a more just and equitable world . A crucial aspect of this ongoing endeavour lies in securing equal compensation for work of equal value, irrespective of gender. Furthermore, SDG 8 which focuses on Decent Work and Economic Growth sets forth ambitious targets to be achieved by 2030, including full and productive employment for all women and men, as well as equal pay for work of equal value . Every year the global community observes International Equal Pay Day on September 18 , signifying the importance of this objective and the lengthy journey ahead of us.

 Equal pay for work of equal value is an internationally recognised fundamental right, rooted in the ILO Convention 100(1951) on Equal Remuneration , which focuses on gender discrimination in employment and sets out that signatories must promote and ensure equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.  The key role of equal pay in fostering gender equality, dignity, fairness, respect and recognition for the work of women , has been prioritised by the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. SDG 8 on inclusive growth, full employment and decentwork enshrines equal pay among its targets, underscoring that an equitable and inclusive world of work is a precondition to genderequality and societal progress overall ( SDG 5 ) Measuring progress in closing gender pay gaps is essential to address pay discrimination wherever it happens and to foster the implementation of the SDGs. Unfortunately, the lack of comparable disaggregated data by gender, race, di...