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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

HR & People Analytics

A benchmark study on organizational readiness for the EU Pay Transparency Directive

Highberg EU Pay Benchmark- (2025)

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Gain insight into the difference between pay gaps and equal pay for equal work

Understanding equal pay

Understanding-Equal-Pay

In 1957, the European Union adopted a treaty establishing that men and women should receive equal pay for work of equal value. Although this law has been in place for more than 65 years, there is still a clear difference in pay between men and women. For example, the most recent benchmark by Statistics Netherlands shows that men earn on average between 3 per cent and 6 per cent more than women for the same work. Fortunately, more companies are realizing the importance of gender equality in the workplace and the role that equal pay for equal work plays in this. Yet it is not clear to many companies. What exactly is equal pay for equal work?

Henrieke van Bommel

Niek Klaver

Data-driven insights for fairness and employee satisfaction

Equal Pay and Gender Pay Gap Analysis

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Equal pay for equal work, pay equity, wage equality, pay gap, pay fairness, wage parity - these terms all refer to the same fundamental issue. 
At its core, the goal is to ensure that people performing the same work are paid equally, regardless of their background or other characteristics, and that companies can demonstrate this equality. 
In the Netherlands, the term "characteristic" typically refers to gender (male/female). However, in other countries, this type of analysis is also applied to other diversity factors, such as ethnicity or nationality. 
As the Netherlands follows pioneers like the US and the UK in this field, it is expected that the focus on pay equality will expand over time to include other diversity dimensions.

Equal pay is a commitment to recognizing the worth of every individual contribution.

The road to equal pay

Paying your employees equally for the same work sounds easy but can be quite challenging. For example, women earn, on average, 6% less for the same work in Dutch profit organizations, and this number is only slowly decreasing. For organizations to decrease this gap, gaining insight into the current pay gap is important. 
Highberg helps organizations analyze any potential pay gap and advises and guides alternative action toward pay equity.

Equal Pay analysis at AkzoNobel

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AkzoNobel is a multinational Dutch company that specializes in paints and coatings. It is one of the largest and most prominent global coatings and paints companies. With over 35,000 employees worldwide, they wished to conduct a global equal pay analysis. After careful consideration, they chose Highberg as their partner. 
Today, Magdalena Guaia, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisor, shares her experiences with conducting equal pay research and working with Highberg.

What Equal Pay methodologies are out there?

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In our <a href="https://highberg.com/insights/beyond-the-numbers-why-the-nominal-gender-pay-gap-isnt-enough" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previous blog post </a>we explored the value of using an advanced equal pay methodology: it offers deeper insights into the root causes of pay gaps and supports with legislation like the EU Pay Transparency Directive. That naturally leads to the next question: what methodologies are available? In this blog post, we share with you several methods we have come across in our field of work.
Side note. In this blog series, we take the gender equal pay analysis as an example, but of course also other (two) groups can be compared, for example Western versus non-Western employees.

Ninande Vermeer

Equal pay for men and women at VvAA

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Equal pay for men and women is an important issue for VvAA, the cross-professional collective of healthcare professionals and healthcare companies. At the request of HR manager Paul Jacobs, Highberg released a sharp analysis. 'If you lump everything together you really do see a difference.'

How workplace equality produces positive organizational outcomes

Success through pay equity

Unlocking organizational success through equal pay

At a time of increasing demands for laws and regulations, growing social pressure, and much emphasis on employee satisfaction, gaining insight into equal pay is a must. Nevertheless, companies are sometimes reluctant to investigate if a potential pay gap exists. There are two reasons for this: (1) organizations believe there is no pay inequality in their organization, and (2) organizations seem to be afraid of the consequences if there are any differences. But, beyond social responsibility, many advantages come with transparency about pay equity.

Unlocking organizational success through pay equity

Compliancy is required by 2026

Are you ready for the new EU Pay rules?

Equal Pay

In May 2023, the European Commission agreed to a new directive on equal pay and pay transparency. This directive outlines measures promoting pay transparency, including providing pay details for job seekers, ensuring the right to know the pay levels for employees engaged in similar or equivalent work, and imposing gender pay gap reporting requirements on companies with over 100 employees (both public and private organizations). EU member states must incorporate this directive into their national legislation within two years.

Are you ready for the upcoming EU Directive Pay Transparency?

Understanding Equal Pay in Light of the EU Pay Transparency Directive

Why the Nominal Gender Pay Gap Isn't Enough

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Within Highberg we look at the topic of Equal pay from both an organizational and a legal perspective, but also through a methodological lens. After all, People Analytics is one of our expertise. There is not one way to Rome, and the same counts for doing an Equal Pay analysis. But you might ask yourself which methodologies are available, what benefits or disadvantages they have, and the ultimate question: which method to choose? In this blog series we will explore just that. We will explore the different Equal pay methods we have seen in our field of work, the pros and cons of each, and which one we prefer. But, before we deep dive into the details, why do you even need a "method" when working on Equal pay?

Beyond the Numbers: Why the Nominal Gender Pay Gap Isn't Enough

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The EU Pay Transparency Directive (EUPTD) is reshaping how organizations manage and communicate pay fairness across Europe. To help employers prepare, Highberg conducted a benchmark study among 112 large organizations in the Netherlands, Europe, and beyond.
This report provides key insights into: levels of organizational readiness and compliance, main challenges and opportunities of the EUPTD and practical steps to achieve sustainable compliance.

Gido van Puijenbroek

Rogier Kerkhof

Netherlands

<title>Navigating the EU Pay Transparency Directive | Highberg | Highberg</title>

Highberg EU Pay Transparency Directive Benchmark- (2025)

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Highberg EU Pay Transparency Directive Benchmark- (2025)

Access the full benchmark report here

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