International Women’s Day: How Gender Pay Gap Reporting Aims to Close the Gap

Accelerate Action

The theme of International Women’s Day 2025 is #AccelerateAction.

At the present pace of advancement, achieving complete gender equality will not happen until the year 2158 – approximately five generations from now – based on data from the World Economic Forum.

Emphasising the urgency to accelerate action highlights the necessity of prompt and decisive measures to bridge the gender gap. It underscores the need for greater momentum in tackling the barriers and biases that women encounter in both their personal and professional lives.

The benefits of a truly equal-opportunities workplace are far-reaching. Organisations that get gender balance right are more successful, make better decisions and provide a more cohesive business environment for all their Employees.

An inclusive Organisation also tends to be more responsive to increasingly heterogenous customer markets, better able to produce solutions to complex problems, more productive and more likely to have a positive reputation.

In the current climate where Government policy is focused on making further progress on gender equality, now is the time to accelerate action by reviewing pay and benefits practices to not only ensure compliance but also to reap the many rewards of creating an inclusive workplace culture.

In anticipation of celebrating International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, we are taking this opportunity to assess recent gender pay gap reporting developments. Understanding these changes is crucial to ensure your Organisation adheres to both evolving regulations and HR best practice.

Recent Pay Transparency Developments

Gender equality is a key priority in both domestic and European legislative chambers. Ireland’s employment equality legislation is currently under review and has already been bolstered in recent years by the addition of gender pay gap reporting obligations. Organisations with 50 Employees or more will be required to publish a gender pay gap report in 2025. EU legislation will also introduce new pay transparency measures for jobseekers and existing Employees by 2026 at the latest.

What is the Gender Pay Gap?

The gender pay gap is the difference in the average hourly wage of men and women across a workforce. Gender pay gaps exist for different reasons in different Organisations. As well as sociocultural factors, workplace factors like occupational segregation, unconscious bias, and work-life balance challenges can all contribute to the development of a gender pay gap.

What is Gender Pay Gap Reporting?

The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 introduced a requirement for certain Employers to report on their hourly gender pay gap across a range of metrics.

Organisations in scope of the legislation are asked to produce a report that includes the following details:

1. the difference between the mean hourly remuneration of male Employees and female Employees expressed as a percentage of the mean hourly remuneration of male Employees.
2. the difference between the median hourly remuneration of male Employees and female Employees expressed as a percentage of the median hourly remuneration of male Employees.
3. the difference between the mean bonus remuneration of male Employees and female Employees expressed as a percentage of the mean bonus remuneration of male Employees.
4. the difference between the median bonus remuneration of male Employees and female Employees expressed as a percentage of the median bonus remuneration of male Employees.
5. the difference between the mean hourly remuneration of part-time male Employees and that of part-time female Employees expressed as a percentage of the mean hourly remuneration of part-time male Employees.
6. the difference between the median hourly remuneration of part-time male Employees and that of part-time female Employees expressed as a percentage of the median hourly remuneration of part-time male Employees.
7. the percentage of all male Employees who were paid bonus remuneration and the percentage of all female Employees who were paid such remuneration.
8. the percentage of all male Employees who received benefits in kind and the percentage of all female Employees who received such benefits.
9. The difference between the mean hourly remuneration of male Employees on temporary contracts and that of female Employees on such contracts expressed as a percentage of the mean hourly remuneration of male Employees.
10. The difference between the median hourly remuneration of male Employees on temporary contracts and that of female Employees on such contracts expressed as a percentage of the median hourly remuneration of male Employees.
11. The respective percentages of all Employees who fall within each of:
    •  the lower remuneration quartile pay band,
    •  the lower middle remuneration quartile pay band,
    •  the upper middle remuneration quartile pay band, or
    •  the upper remuneration quartile pay band,
    •  who are male and who are female.

Gender Pay Gap Developments in 2025

The headline change in the context of gender pay gap reporting in 2025 is the widening of the scope of the gender pay gap reporting legislation to Organisations with 50 Employees or more. While these smaller Organisations will be in a position to learn from the experiences of larger Organisations over the past three years, compiling gender pay gap reports for the first time in 2025 is still likely to be a daunting task.

Further anticipated developments in gender pay gap reporting in 2025 include:

Public Scrutiny

Currently, Organisations must publish their gender pay gap data and statement of information on their website or have it available for public inspection. It is anticipated that the Government’s online gender pay gap portal will be launched in 2025 which means both competitors, job candidates and other interested parties will be in a better position to easily compare the gender pay gap information of different Organisations.

New Deadline, Shorter Timeframe

It is also anticipated that the reporting deadline for gender pay gap reporting will be brought forward from December to the end of November in 2025. This will reduce the existing six-month timeframe by one month and may increase pressure on Organisations to have the relevant data processed on time.

Impact of Gender Pay Gap Reporting on SMEs

While large Organisations have the resources and infrastructure to comply with the gender pay gap reporting regulations, SMEs face more significant challenges. Organisations with just over 50 Employees may not have dedicated HR departments or extensive data management systems for instance. Many SMEs will lack the resources to effectively analyse pay disparities, report the data, and implement corrective measures. Despite these challenges, SMEs are encouraged to view gender pay gap reporting not just as a legal obligation but as a strategic opportunity for growth. Organisations that invest in closing the gender pay gap often see improvements in Employee morale, engagement, and overall performance.

Using a Gender Pay Gap Report to Your Organisation’s Advantage

While the administrative burden of gathering, analysing, and reporting the required pay data cannot be underestimated, there are several long-term benefits associated with ensuring compliance with gender pay gap reporting requirements:

1. Promoting a More Inclusive Workplace: Even small businesses can benefit from promoting gender equality by addressing pay disparities. With the increased focus on gender pay gap reporting, SMEs are incentivised to foster an inclusive culture where Employees are paid fairly for their work.
2. Improved Talent Retention and Recruitment: As jobseekers gain more pay transparency rights in the coming years, Organisations that disclose their gender pay gaps and make efforts to close them may have a competitive edge in attracting top talent. Conversely, failure to address the issue could result in losing out on skilled Employees who value transparent pay practices.
3. Enhanced Reputation: Compliance with gender pay gap regulations helps foster a reputation as a fair Employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion. For SMEs, this can be a key differentiator in a competitive labour market.

SMEs who successfully navigate these regulations in 2025 and beyond have an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in gender equality and position themselves as attractive Employers in a competitive market.

Find out more about Gender Pay Gap Reporting and how you can Accelerate Action for gender equality in the workplace.