International Equal Pay Day 2026 centres on pay equity for comparable work

What happened

International Equal Pay Day has chosen pay equity for work of comparable value as the theme for its 2026 campaign. Observed on 18 September, the day was adopted by the United Nations in 2019 to draw attention to gender-related differences in earnings.

EkoIQ, referring to International Labour Organization data, says women workers worldwide receive approximately 78 cents for each dollar earned by men. It puts the worldwide gender pay gap at an estimated 20%.

The campaign asks public authorities, businesses, worker and employer organisations, civil society, women’s organisations and feminist groups to increase efforts supporting equal remuneration for work of comparable value. For employers, the immediate task is to engage with that call across recruitment, pay decisions, advancement and working conditions.

Why it matters

The pay gap has consequences beyond current wages. The campaign material links lower earnings for women with reduced lifetime income, weaker pension rights and less access to social protection.

It also identifies uneven representation in senior leadership. In the United Kingdom, France and Germany, men hold 80% to 90% of senior management roles, according to EkoIQ. Women are meanwhile concentrated in different occupations, which the source describes as lower-paid.

Employment and unpaid care responsibilities remain part of the wider picture. In 2024, less than half of working-age women were employed globally, compared with 70% of men. Women spent more than two-and-a-half times the time spent by men on unpaid care work.

Background

Equal Pay Day’s stated purpose is to advance the principle that work of comparable value should receive equal pay, while making gender-based pay disparities more visible. The 2026 theme retains that emphasis after what the campaign describes as slow progress in narrowing the gap.

What organisations can do next

The campaign’s call is directed at government, business and labour organisations as well as civil society. Employers and their representative bodies are among the groups asked to intensify work towards pay equity for comparable work ahead of International Equal Pay Day on 18 September.