EPIC

Progress and Challenges in Closing the Gender Pay Gap and other Gender-based Gaps within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Framework

Submitted by ep_admin on Thu, 10/11/2018 - 05:30

Progress and Challenges in Closing the Gender Pay Gap and other Gender-based Gaps within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Framework

11 Oct 2018

More than 400 Government, Employers’ and Workers’ delegates from 35 countries of the Americas gathered in Panama City on Thursday 4th October 2018 for an Information Session entitled Progress and Challenges in Closing the Gender Pay Gap and other Gender-based Gaps within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Framework. The session was organized by the International Labour Office, on the occasion of its 19th American Regional Meeting which took place from 2-5 October 2018.

The objectives of the session were to:

  • Share information on the current status of the gender pay gap and other gender gaps, and to socialize advances in legislation, public policy, and specific measures taken by tripartite continents to move towards equality; and
  • Present the objectives and main actions of EPIC and how it could be structured in the Region.

Key speakers were Her Excellency, Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado, Vice president of Panama, Rakesh Patry, Director General, Employment and Social Development Canada, Manuela Tomei, Director of the ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (via Video) and Lisa Wong, ILO’s Senior Officer on Non-Discrimination. The session was moderated by Panama’s Minister of Labour, Mr. Ernesto Carles.

 

Press clippings:

Video: Equal Pay and EPIC

Submitted by ep_admin on Tue, 10/09/2018 - 05:30

Video: Equal Pay and EPIC

9 Oct 2018

What is the gender pay gap, what measures and policies can be made to tackle it and what is EPIC?

Learn more about EPIC in this video (English):

French:

Spanish:

Arabic:

Global leaders and companies pledge to reduce the gender pay gap by 2030

Submitted by ep_admin on Thu, 09/27/2018 - 05:30

Global leaders and companies pledge to reduce the gender pay gap by 2030

27 Sep 2018

On the 26 of September 2018, global leaders from governments, private sector companies, trade unions and civil society pledged to take concrete action towards closing the gender pay gap by 2030. The global commitments – to ensure women in every sector of the workforce are paid equally to men for doing work of equal value – were made at the Equal Pay International Coalition Pledging event held during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

See the complete list of the pledges made during the event.

Globally, and in every sector of the workforce, women are paid less than men for doing work of equal value. Unequal pay is one of the most persistent barriers to women’s success at work and to economic growth, and a critical problem that has been prioritized in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular SDG 8.5 and 5 Equal pay, in addition to empowering women, can have a significant impact on achieving other key goals, such as promoting inclusive societies, reducing poverty, and creating conditions for decent work and gender equality.

As Principals of the EPIC Secretariat, the Director General of ILO, Guy Ryder; the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka; and the Secretary General of OECD, Angel Gurria, pledged to accelerate progress on reducing the gender pay gap by convening global leaders to share experiences, documenting and disseminating good practices, and drawing global political attention to the issue of gender pay inequality.

 

The Director General of the ILO, Guy Ryder, said, “The fact that women across the globe are still being paid less than men for work of equal value is one of the most visible, tangible and pervasive manifestations of discrimination. It is a matter of urgency to make sure the message is finally heard and things start to change.”

 

Global leaders were in attendance including President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, and Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado. Governments from Peru to Jordan to Switzerland to Canada demonstrated their shared vision to accelerate progress to achieve equal pay by pledging to:

  • implement legislation that prohibits unequal remuneration in the public and private sectors,
  • establish National Commissions that monitor the compliance of equal remuneration laws
  • and launch national awareness campaigns on the importance of equal pay.

 

The Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, said, “A strong social protection system is critical to reducing the gender pay gap – where women have access to paid maternity leave, to affordable child and elderly care services, and to sustainable infrastructure, we see an increase in women engaging in paid work. This will be the theme of next year’s Commission on the Status of Women, and I count on support from the EPIC to accelerate progress on improving social protection systems”.

Secretary-General of the OECD, Angel Gurría, said, “Gender pay gaps are not only unfair for those who suffer them, but they are also detrimental to our economies. If you do not have equal pay productivity suffers, competitiveness suffers and the economy at large suffers”. He asserts that “it is in our power to make an immediate improvement in the quality of life of hundreds of millions of women and their families if we succeed in delivering equal pay for men and women”.

 

Notable pledges made at the event include:

  • The President of Iceland, E. Guoni Th. Johannesson, committed to implement its Law on the Equal Pay Certification. The law prohibits discriminatory practices based on gender and requires that women and men working for the same employer shall be paid equal wages and enjoy equal terms of employment.
  • The International Trade Union Confederation has pledged to raise awareness of initiatives that aim to achieve equal pay through advocacy campaigns on investment of childcare, establishing minimum living levels, and guaranteeing social protection to care workers.
  • The International Organisation of Employers has pledged to strengthen its actions to promote gender equality and non-discrimination good practices as part of its commitment to preserve and defend Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, while paying special attention to gender-based discrimination in pay.
  • Civil Society organisations including Save the Children and CIVICUS pledged to support its members to reduce the wage gap and to conduct internal reviews of its pay policies to ensure internal equity between men and women.

 

Global companies also participated, including IKEA, Deloitte, Pepsi Co, Nestlé and Novartis AG, who expressed their allegiance to EPIC’s mission by committing to, for example:

  • reviewing hiring and promotional practices to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers,
  • identify and promote best practices that ensure fairness for all workers
  • and to implement policies prohibiting discrimination based on gender.

See the complete list of the pledges made during the event.

DEMONSTRATING COMMITMENT AND LEADERSHIP ON EQUAL PAY – AN EPIC PLEDGING EVENT

Submitted by ep_admin on Wed, 09/26/2018 - 05:30

DEMONSTRATING COMMITMENT AND LEADERSHIP ON EQUAL PAY – AN EPIC PLEDGING EVENT

26 Sep 2018

Introduction

One year after the launch of EPIC, global leaders, including Heads of State, CEOs of multinational companies, Heads of employers’ and workers’ organizations, and representatives of renowned universities and civil society organizations will come together in to publicly demonstrate their commitment to work together under the EPIC umbrella.

This event, which is by invitation only, will take place on Wednesday 26th September at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The main objective of the event is to accelerate the pace towards equal pay for work of equal value, in line with target 8.5 of the SDGs.

Participants will make pledges in line with the following criteria:

  • Be in line with the EPIC’s vision, mission and goals (see Annex 3 of the Pledge Note);
  • Be action-oriented, measureable and time-bound (objectives to be achieved during the period 2018-2022);
  • Be short, concise and specific (no more than 10 lines).

The EPIC Secretariat will screen pledges to ensure that they comply with the above criteria (see examples of pledges in Annex 2 of the Pledge Note).

 

Next steps

Registered pledges will be integrated into the EPIC plan of work, providing the EPIC Secretariat an opportunity to offer technical assistance, as needed, to the respective countries/organizations. Pledge makers will be invited to designate a focal point of contact regarding their pledges.

Please contact the EPIC Secretariat at [email protected] for further information.

Pledge Note
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