Blog by Tania Gómez Herazo, SI Advocacy AI Advisor.
What an uplifting experience joining the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) side event, “Closing the Gender Pay Gap: Eliminating Legal and Structural Barriers to Achieve Social and Economic Justice.” Organised by EPIC, led by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and United Nations (UN) Women, the event took place on Thursday, 12 March 2026 at UN Women Headquarters in New York. It was closely aligned with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) theme of strengthening access to justice for all women and girls.
The room was vibrant and engaged as speakers unpacked actionable paths forward. Despite a persistent global gender pay gap of 20%, which is wider for women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, progress was evident. Nearly all economies (98 out of 190) now mandate equal pay for work of equal value under ILO Convention No. 100. Wage transparency laws in 35 countries are gaining traction, complemented by job evaluation tools that help businesses attract talent, build trust, and avoid disputes. Panellists from Brazil’s Ministry of Labour, the OECD Gender Unit, Jordan’s National Commission for Women, the European Union (EU) Directorate-General for Justice (JUST), Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Labour, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Fiji, and Canada’s Federal Pay Equity Commissioner, Lori Straznicky, highlighted these developments.
Moderated by the ILO’s Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, the discussion spotlighted social dialogue as a key driver of change: trade unions advocating for fair collective agreements, employers designing bias-free pay structures, and training for judges, inspectors, and mediators to address fears and procedural barriers. Lori Straznicky highlighted Canada’s approach, noting proactive systems that support enforcement without placing undue burden on women. She called for coordinated awareness and capacity-building across sectors.
As a Soroptimist, I see strong potential in AI-powered pay audits to deliver real-time, unbiased job evaluations, when ethically regulated, to help accelerate equality. This directly supports our Empowerment pillar, contributing to women’s financial independence and leadership.
Events like this reaffirm our work. Together, we are working to remove barriers and build a future where every person’s value contributes to shared prosperity.
P.S. Soroptimist International (SI) has been a partner of the EPIC initiative of the ILO since September 2025.
