Today, on European Unequal Pay Day, PES Women is calling on the incoming Commission President to finally close the gender pay gap. The PES member organisation – which fights for female empowerment and gender equality – has mounted a campaign to end pay discrimination, and has sent a specially designed campaign postcard to Ursula von der Leyen.

PES Women President Zita Gurmai said:

“The first woman to head up the European Commission has been very keen to talk about gender equality. But a gender balanced College is not enough, we need action now which will deliver equality for all women. We are positive that the new Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, will push for this, but we want assurances that Ursula von der Leyen will wholeheartedly join the fight too. That is why we are campaigning today.

“We are calling on women to make their voices heard – proudly put your out of office message on, share our Unequal Pay Day campaign, and stand in solidarity with your sisters for your right to equality.”

From Brussels, PES Women has sent the special 2019 Unequal Pay Day postcard to incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging her to act to close the gender pay gap. The same has been done by PES Women members from right across the European Union. They are calling for the new Commission to reduce the pay gap 2 percentage points per year, per country, per age group. This can be achieved by introducing audits at EU level – such as through transparency grids. Clear and dissuasive sanctions in case of non-fulfilment must also be enshrined in EU law.

In the EU, women are paid 16% less than men on average. This means that, when compared to their male colleagues’ salaries, women on average work the equivalent of two months for free. Today – 4 November 2019 – marks the date after which women effectively stop getting paid this year: Unequal Pay Day.

Read the full article here.