International Equal Pay Day 2023; September 18th.

FORUM: “Equal pay for work of equal value.” International Equal Pay Day 2023. During the day, we will celebrate achievements and discuss the challenges on the way to achieving equal pay as well as provide an opportunity for you to make a new equal pay pledge. Across all regions, women are paid less than men, with the gender pay gap estimated at around 20% globally. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls continue to be held back owing to the persistence of historical and structural unequal power relations between women and men, poverty and inequalities and disadvantages in access to resources and opportunities that limit women’s and girls’ capabilities. Progress on narrowing that gap has been slow. While equal pay for men and women has been widely endorsed, applying it in practice has been difficult. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promote decent work and economic growth by seeking full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. Mainstreaming of a gender perspective is crucial in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Achieving equal pay is an important milestone for human rights and gender equality. It takes the effort of the entire world community and more work remains to be done. Follow the conversation with the hashtags #EqualPayDay, #GenerationEquality, #SDG5, #EqualPay and #18September.


Opening statement of UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous to the second regular session of the Executive Board, held in UN Headquarters, 12 September 2023.

EVENTS: You are invited attend a High-Level Pledging Event to mark International Equal Pay Day 2023 on Monday, September 18th from 6 to 8:30pm EDT at the w. Westin New York Grand Central. The event entitled :“Standing up for equal pay – celebrating achievements and understanding challenges,”, aims to give countries an opportunity to make new equal pay pledges. It is organized by the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), which is led by the International Labour Organization , the UN Women, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

WEBINARS: A OECD EMnet-EPIC Webinar entitled ‘‘How companies can move the needle through the equal pay international coalition.” was held on Monday, September 11th, from 15:00 – 16:00 CEST | 9:00 – 10:00 EDT; This online event will feature discussions on the collaborative efforts led by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UN Women, and the OECD to champion the principle of achieving equal pay for women and men worldwide, along with the pivotal role of the private sector in committing to this target .Register to participate.