The Gender Pay Gap is not only dependent on paychecks It is in the organizational culture that inequalities are created (or reduced)
Starting in June 2026, the new European directive on pay transparency will introduce stricter obligations for companies, which will be required to assess the strength and consistency of their decision-making models, including DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies. The issue is particularly relevant in Italy, which ranks 85th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2025, placing among the lowest in Europe for women’s economic participation. This figure highlights a gap not only in salaries, but also in access to strategic projects, career opportunities and key leadership roles, resulting in a systemic loss of talent, competitiveness and growth.
@giulialapertosa Le donne SCELGONO i lavori meno pagati. Quindi poi non possono lamentarsi di guadagnare meno degli uomini. Ma è davvero così? In realtà... no. Il più grande Studio svolto su questo tema, da Professoresse dell'Università di Standford, dimostra che tantissimi lavori hanno iniziato a essere meno retribuiti quando le donne hanno iniziato a svolgerli. Anche a parità di esperienza e formazione rispetto agli uomini che ci lavoravano precedentemente, le donne venivano "semplicemente" pagate meno. Cosa ne pensi? Per me i dati di questo Studio sono sconcertanti. #genderpaygap #gendergap #genderequality #disuguaglianze #imparacontiktok #empowermentfemminile suono originale - giulialapertosa
“The Gender Pay Gap does not emerge when a salary is decided, but much earlier.” This is according to Monia Cusini, Head of HR Advisory at Sparq, a headhunting and HR advisory firm. “It develops in the criteria used to evaluate performance, in the way responsibilities and high-impact projects are assigned, and in promotion paths that are often not clearly formalized. It is in this organizational backstage that biases and asymmetries can arise, sometimes unintentionally, but with concrete effects over time.”
The conditions for real change in the Gender Pay Gap
The European directive intervenes at a structural level, requiring companies to make explicit and document certain internal elements related to their organizational structure. Individual salaries remain protected, but evaluation systems, the metrics used, and salary ranges for each role and level become central. In the presence of disparities, companies will also have to demonstrate that they have adopted objective, consistent and gender-neutral criteria. This step highlights how transparency cannot simply mean exposing data, but must be built on solid and verifiable models. “Not everything needs to be public, but everything must be explainable. If numbers are shared without first working on the criteria that generate them, there is a risk of improper comparisons and loss of trust. There is also the danger that companies, in order to avoid differences that are difficult to justify, will flatten salaries and career paths, making the labor market less dynamic and less meritocratic,” Cusini continues.
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Intervening in the organizational structure means realigning governance, processes and managerial culture. It means reviewing evaluation models to clarify what is rewarded and why, sharing the criteria used to assign strategic projects and the elements that guide promotions, and defining salary ranges that are consistent with responsibilities and impact. This process also involves introducing periodic reviews of pay data and strengthening manager training, since managers translate formal systems into daily operational decisions that are essential for ensuring long-term consistency.
@charlielfriend The gender wealth gap isn’t closing anytime soon. At current rates, it could take 123 years to close the global gender gap. In the UK alone: - Women retire with an average pension pot of £69,000, compared to £205,000 for men. - The gender pay gap still sits at 13.1%, which is the equivalent of women working nearly 7 weeks unpaid each year. - Women carry out 60% more unpaid work than men and are significantly more likely to be the primary caregiver, meaning career breaks, part-time hours, and lower lifetime contributions hold women back from building wealth - To retire with the same savings as men, women would need to work an extra 19 years. This isn’t just a pay problem. It’s a structural one - ans that’s why I’m so passionate about talking about wealth, money and being a woman in the finance space. Happy International Women’s Day - send this to the women in your life so we can start closing that gap for ourselves! #genderpaygap #internationalwomensday #wealthbuilding #financialfreedom The Less I Know The Better Citypop Version - Tame Impala
From compliance to competitiveness
In a labor market increasingly short of skills, transparency is not only a regulatory constraint but also a competitive lever for companies that want to attract and retain qualified talent. It represents a strategic opportunity for organizations capable of redesigning their decision-making models in a coherent and readable way, intervening in the structure of the processes that guide evaluations, career paths and reward systems. In doing so, companies will not only reduce the risk of disparities, but will also strengthen their credibility in the market while improving talent attraction and retention. “The point is not to standardize salaries, but to make the path that connects performance, contribution and financial recognition understandable. When criteria are clear, people understand what drives organizational decisions and which skills and results truly make the difference. This shifts the focus from personal comparison to professional responsibility, strengthening meritocracy rather than weakening it,” concludes Monia Cusini.
