Start a project
Creative graphic with text 'The Gender Pay Gap' and a stylized figure intertwined with vibrant pink and red lines combining the concepts visually.Bold text reading 'THE GENDER MIND PAY GAP' in beige and pink on a dark background, with an abstract red and pink illustration of a person with long hair bent backward beneath the text.

There’s a big, wide, ugly gap out there.
And we think it’s time to close it.

Shoking data

For every €1 a man earns...
... a woman earns €0.87

Women work for 2 months free each year, compared to men

And by the time a woman gets to 60, she will have lost out on $1 million.

At the same time the internet is raging!

Graphic titled 'LinkedIn Man Comment' reading: 'Of course there is no pay gap. It's an unscientific use of statistics'Graphic titled 'LinkedIn Man Comment' reading: 'I and my male colleagues have always earned the same as our female counterparts. Everywhere I’ve worked there was this equity and equality'Graphic with a quote from Paco C. reading: 'In my company all people earn the same, doing the same job...'

1 in 4 Europeans believe that the pay gap does not exist.

So we start to wonder

Do we know what
gender pay gap
really is?

Gender Pay Gap vs. Equal Pay

The gender pay gap is the average earnings difference between men and women across a workforce, influenced by factors like job type and hours worked, unlike 'equal pay' which means men and women being paid the same for the same work.

Why is there
a gap?

Claudia Goldin is the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize for Economics. She studied 200 years’ worth of data from the US to track the origins of the gender pay gap and this is what she found.

Graphic titled 'The No. 1 Reason: Women Are Caregivers' stating that expectations to care for children and aging parents impact how well women can compete in the labor market.
Graphic stating: 44% of Europeans think a woman's most important role is caring for her home and family.
Graphic titled 'This leads to... Interrupted Careers' stating that taking breaks such as maternity leave causes long-term harm to a woman's career and earnings.
Graphic titled 'And more... Part-Time Jobs' explaining that higher rates of part-time work among women lead to lower earnings, fewer skills, and slower career growth.
Graphic titled 'And less... ‘Greedy’ Work' explaining that high-paying jobs rewarding long, family-unfriendly hours disadvantage women with caregiving responsibilities.

No wonder…
in the EU Only 8% of CEOs in large listed companies are women.

But this is not the only reason you (women, companies, men) should care… Closing the gender pay gap would benefit not only women and families but also businesses.

Benefits for companies

Boosted Profitability

Firms with more women in top roles enjoy a 25% greater chance of financial success.

Strategic
Shift

Women in the C-suite drive a focus on innovative R&D and lower risk strategies.

Peak performance

Companies with a balanced mix of men and women achieve superior market performance.

Benefits for women and families

Economic Empowerment

Higher salaries boost women's economic power, allowing for independent financial choices and stronger family finances.

Secure Retirement

Higher average salaries can help close the retirement gap (women pensioners in Europe receive 29% less than men), cutting poverty risk later in life.

Leadership and Role Models

Equal leadership roles create more female mentors, inspiring future generations and advancing gender equality in the workplace.

What can be done

5 steps every
employer can take to close the gender pay gap.

Flexible Working

Don’t penalise staff for flexible working. Focus on results, not hours, for fair pay.

Graphic with text stating '38% mothers say lack of flexibility is a reason to quit or cut hours' in large white and green font over a stylized green silhouette of a woman seated with legs extended, on a brown background.Graphic showing that 38% of mothers say lack of flexibility is a reason to quit or cut hours, with an illustration of a green high-heeled shoe on a brown background.

Paternity leave

Encourage and support men to take parental leave to balance the career impacts.

Graphic with a red hand stylized as a turkey showing the text: '20% of Spanish fathers don't take their paternity leave' on an orange background.Graphic showing a large red hand against a brown background with text reading: '20% of Spanish fathers don’t take their paternity leave.'

Empower managers to lead effectively

Train managers in diversity equity and inclusion (DEI), and make it a key performance criteria for everyone.

Text showing the statistic: 28% of managers say their company recognizes DEI in performance reviews, next to a stylized dark blue ship with a star on top, on a brown background.Graphic showing the text '28% of managers say their company recognizes DEI in performance reviews' over a blue stylized ship icon on an orange background.

Track women’s repre­sen­tation

Do you have equal representation at every level? Set goals for a gender-balanced workforce, especially in the top roles.

Orange stylized figure of a person with large white and orange text overlay reading: '34% of managers in the EU are women; 50% of the workforce are women.'Text statistics showing 34% of managers in the EU are women and 50% of the workforce are women, displayed over a peach background with a red-orange abstract figure illustration.

Address micro­aggressions*

Sexism isn’t always obvious or intentional. Train staff to recognize and challenge subtle discrimination.

* Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional acts or comments that reflect bias against marginalized groups, causing harm and alienation.

Illustration with a purple hand featuring an eye with a tear, alongside text stating women are 3 times more likely to face microaggressions and 4 times more likely to consider quitting and experience burnout, set on a brown background.Text stating women are 3 times more likely to face microaggressions and 4 times more likely to consider quitting and prone to burnout, over an orange background with a purple stylized hand and a teardrop shaped eye illustration.

Playing our part

What we’re doing to help close the gender pay gap

Dedicated to diversity

At elespacio, We're committed to diversity and inclusion. We are 50% women and we are female co-led. And we’re actively trying to address the gender pay gap.

Our contribution 1

Más mujeres creativas

Supports and promotes female creative talent in Spain.

Donate

Our contribution 2

Equal -
Salary

Has developed a scientific tool that helps companies around the world close the pay gap.

Donate