The EPIC legal database is now complete!

23 Sep 2021

We are pleased to inform you that the EPIC legal database is now complete. It provides information on equal remuneration for work of equal value set out in national law and practice using the provisions of the ILO’s Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) as a benchmark. The database collects information on whether the domestic legal framework mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value, has wage transparency and minimum wage laws. It also has information on whether the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is included in collective agreements.

The EPIC database provides information on 188 countries and territories. Respective governmental counterparts reviewed and validated the information presented in the EPIC database for 142 countries and territories. The information presented for the other 46 files has not yet been validated.

The database shows that there are considerable legislative gaps on an international level.

– 56% of the evaluated countries and territories mandate equal remuneration for women and men workers for work of equal value.

– In recent years, member States and reviewed territories have adopted measures to actively fight the gender pay gap. 36 out of 188 reviewed member States, which constitutes less than 20%, have proactive wage transparency laws and measures to address the discriminatory pay gap.

– Collective bargaining remains one of the strongest tools in the arsenal of employers and workers to close the pay gap between women and men. Yet not many collective agreements include provisions on the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value.

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