#EqualPayDay - Statement by First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Commissioners Marianne Thyssen and Vera Jourová

Ahead of the EU Equal Pay Day which falls on 3 November, First Vice President Frans Timmermans, Commissioner Marianne Thyssen and Commissioner Věra Jourová said: “Women and men are equal. But women in Europe earn 16.2% less than men. This gender pay gap is not only unfair in principle, but also in practice. It puts women in precarious situations during their careers, and even more so after they retire, with a gender pension gap of 36.6%. The Commission has put a number of proposals on the table to address this issue in the workplace and at home, and it is urgent that these are taken forward by the European Parliament and by member states in the Council to achieve some concrete results, for instance by improving the rights of working parents and carers to take leave to support their families. New data published today underlines the importance of urgently adopting the work-life balance legislation the European Commission has tabled. One in three Europeans was not able to take any family leave last year, and only four in ten men took (or intend to take) parental leave. This is not fair or sustainable."

The Commission launched an EU Action Plan on Tackling the Gender Pay Gap for 2018-19, and started an evaluation of the Directive on equal opportunities and equal treatment of women and men in employment and occupation. More information on the Work Life Balance proposal is available here. Today, the European Commission is publishing a Eurobarometer survey on Europeans' views when it comes to work-life balance. See here the Eurobarometer results, infographic and country factsheets. The full statement is available online.

Share this article: