Fall update from the FPI Fair Pay Innovation Lab
Institutional Engagement and International Outreach
During the week of International Equal Pay Day, Henrike von Platen, CEO of the FPI, spoke at the IV International Congress on the Gender Pay Gap held in Bilbao, Spain.
At this event, the FPI introduced the Universal Fair Pay Check® as the global standard for certifying fair pay structures to the Spanish community. It allows companies to analyze their pay systems, identify gaps, and certify their progress.
One of the central themes was the importance of embedding pay transparency into workplace culture. The European Pay Transparency Directive marks a turning point, and Henrike, in her interview with Cadena SER Euskadi, emphasized:
“We don’t have a knowledge gap about pay gaps; we have an action gap. Fair Pay is not achieved with a single law or a single action. It happens when everyone, from policymakers to companies, collaborates and acts together”
You can access the institutional coverage of the Congress here
This milestone follows our participation in the Parliament of the Canary Islands, where we presented the work of the FPI and placed the role of women in the labor market at the center of the discussion. Both interventions reinforce our political and social commitment to Fair Pay in Spain and globally. Closing the gender pay gap means reducing it to zero.
Lidl is paving the Path to Planet Fair
Companies from around the world are joining our journey to Planet Fair continuously by getting certified with the Universal Fair Pay Check®. Courageously, they open their pay structures to pay equity analysis. These certified companies show what Fair Pay looks like in practice: transparency, accountability and measurable progress. The latest standout example is Lidl in Germany, recognized as the first company in the food retail sector to reach the highest certification level: Fair Pay Leader. With this certification, Lidl shows that Fair Pay is achievable when transparency and continuous improvement are prioritized.
With its Fair Pay Leader certification, Lidl in Germany demonstrates what modern corporate culture looks like: fair, transparent and future-oriented.
You can read Lidl’s official press release here
Who has done it?
On International Equal Pay Day, we celebrated that over 700,000 employees are now under the umbrella of the FPI and the Universal Fair Pay Check®. This achievement brings us closer to the one million mark and strengthens our commitment to global Fair Pay.
We currently count:
79 Fair Pay Analysts,
26 Fair Pay Developers,
14 Fair Pay Leaders
Explore the full list of certified organizations here
Looking Ahead
We continue to work with our 29 FPI Partners and allies to advance Fair Pay across all sectors and countries. Through webinars, joint campaigns, interviews, podcasts, publications, training sessions, coffee talks and conferences, we remain focused on our goal: fair pay for all employees worldwide.