Brussels Edition: Mind the Pay Gap

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

The European Commission will today target the still unacceptably-wide pay gap between men and women. Employers risk fines if they don’t provide information on how they remunerate differently based on gender, according to binding transparency rules to be unveiled today. That will help women to determine if they’re being rewarded fairly for the same work as men, and equality advocates and trade unions to seek compensation for discrimination. Women across the EU are paid 14% less than men and receive pensions that are 30% lower on average. Estonia, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic had the biggest pay gaps of around 20% in 2018. The draft proposal leaves it up to national governments to decide on penalties, and there’s set to be a contrast between how large and small firms are treated.