Can Brussels crack the gender pay gap?

布鲁塞尔能弥合性别薪酬差距吗?

The Inquiry

2026-06-16

23 分钟
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A new directive strives to narrow the 11% hourly wage gap between men and women in the EU. Around the world, the gender pay gap has been shrinking as women gain access to higher education and better employment opportunities. Though varied hours, industries and care responsibilities make this inequality a difficult problem to tackle with one universal policy. Member states have just passed their deadline to implement measures that will hold employers to account for pay disparities in the workplace so will pay transparency solve the persistent gap? Contributors: Emma Duchini, assistant professor of economics, University of Essex, UK Marianne Bertrand, professor of economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, US Adamnesh Bogale, head of gender, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), Ghana Marina Tverdostup, economist, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, Austria Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Evie Yabsley Researcher: Amelia Cox Editor: Tom Bigwood Technical Producer: Toby James Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey (Photo: A woman typing. Credit: BBC)
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  • Welcome to the Inquiry from the BBC World Service.

  • I'm Charmaine Cosier.

  • Each week, one question, four expert witnesses, and an answer.

  • From its headquarters in Brussels,

  • European Union member states adopt a legally binding objective, the EU Pay Transparency Directive.

  • It aims to narrow the difference in average pay earnings between men and women.

  • That measurement is known as the gender pay gap.

  • Member states get to decide how to achieve that objective.

  • The directive also has to be incorporated into their national laws.

  • The deadline for that to happen is June 2026. The EU pay transparency directive is ambitious and wide-ranging.

  • It's also reliant on openness, employer accountability and tackling ingrained causes.