Which country leads the way when it comes to paying men and women equally and ensuring balanced gender representation?

While progress is being made, there’s still a ton of work to do when it comes to achieving pay equity and gender equality – a fact that is especially true within the world of work. 

According to Ravio’s new pay equity report, women working in the European tech industry still earn 25% (median, unadjusted) less than men without considering external factors such as role, job level, and country, and 2.5% (median, adjusted) less than men after accounting for these factors (i.e. on a like-for-like basis).

While 2.5% might not sound like a lot, it is still a notable gap. It’s also an aggregate metric – to go even more granular, we must look at the pay gap by country, job function, and job level (based on our levelling framework). Through this lens, we can see that there is significant variance across each of these factors, highlighting poor performing functions or problematic levels, where women are paid far less compared to men than the above percentage indicates.


The difference between the adjusted and unadjusted gender pay gap also underscores a huge – and somewhat hidden – problem in European tech companies today: there is a critical lack of women across the board, but especially at senior positions earning higher salaries. 


In this blog post, we’ll look at how pay equity varies across Europe and the impact of the lower representation of women in senior positions.

Want a refresher course on pay equity before going any further?

What does Europe's gender pay gap look like?

Across every country that Ravio analysed in Europe, there were two consistent themes: 

There is a consistent gender pay gap between men and women 

Women hold significantly fewer senior positions relative to their overall representation than men. 

In both of these areas, Europe has much room to improve. The gender pay gap can be measured in one of two ways: unadjusted and adjusted. 

What’s the difference between unadjusted and adjusted pay gaps, and why do we measure both?

We measure both the unadjusted pay gap and the adjusted pay gap to understand both the birds-eye view and the more nuanced like-for-like perspective. 

Unadjusted pay gap: The raw difference in median earnings between men and women without accounting for any factors such as job level, job position, and the country they perform their work in. It takes the median average of all men and women to offer a birds-eye view of pay equity.

Adjusted pay gap: The adjusted pay gap takes into account factors that contribute to pay differences between men and women, including job position, job level, and country. ‘Adjusting’ the raw data to account for these things helps us paint a like-for-like comparison, which helps to assess whether men and women are receiving equal pay for equal work.

Interested in our new pay equity report?

How does each country compare when it comes to the gender pay gap across Europe?

In Ravio’s pay equity report, female representation – both overall and in senior positions – was lower than that of men across every country. The fewer women there are in higher-paying, senior roles compared to men, the lower the median earnings of women and the higher the unadjusted pay gap. 

While the UK has the lowest adjusted gender pay gap across Europe, its unadjusted pay gap sits at 31%, one of the highest. Only Spain has a higher unadjusted pay gap than the UK.


The main driver of the UK’s 31% pay gap is representation. 


Despite London being one of the world's largest tech hubs, women only make up 39% of the workforce in the tech industry in the UK compared to men at 61%. What’s more, only 27% of those women are in senior positions, compared to 42% of men. While this is the highest – by far – amount of women in senior positions compared to other countries, much of the UK’s unadjusted pay gap can be explained by this difference.

Why are there less women in tech in the UK?

Ravio survey data tells us that 38% of women are put off by tech as an industry because societal perception indicates that it’s still a male space. It’s unsurprising - with men still making up the majority of the workforce at 59%, it’s no wonder 31% of women state they are actively reluctant to enter the European tech industry because of this perception.

Based on our findings, UK tech companies still need to do more in order to improve the representation of women, especially on the more senior side of the spectrum. This could have a positive domino effect for women: by creating more senior role models for women at the very beginning of their career, the more women would feel encouraged to enter the UK tech industry.

Germany is also doing comparatively well when it comes to the adjusted gender pay gap. Unlike other countries, Germany has a low adjusted gender pay gap in typically male-dominated functions like Engineering, which only had a 1.8% gap at the manager level.

However, Germany’s unadjusted gender pay gap sits at 26%, one of the highest in Europe. Like the UK, this can be partly attributed to representation. 

While women make up 42% of the German tech workforce compared to 58% of men, only 20% of women are in senior positions. It means the majority of women are sitting in lower paid, junior levels. This might indicate that women are finding it difficult to climb the career ladder in German tech companies.

According to Maria Kamischke, VP of People & Culture at Lingoda GmbH, men are more pushy than women when it comes to salary negotiations – a trait instilled from early years.

“While the low adjusted pay gap in Germany shows we’re making progress, the high unadjusted pay gap is a direct consequence of the number of women decreasing as they climb the ranks. Women are still not considered equally for internal career progression in German tech companies compared to men, perhaps because they are less pushy and more humble – a mindset instilled from how women are being socialised from a young age.”

Maria Kamischke, VP of People & Culture at Lingoda GmbH


Legislation is changing the mindset towards pay equity. While the EU Pay Transparency Directive is coming into force for all European companies soon, Germany’s low adjusted pay gap could be attributed to Germany’s strong equal pay legislation: the Transparency in Wage Structures Act that was enforced in 2017.

“While legislation like the Pay Transparency Act helps to cure the symptoms of pay equity, it doesn't address the root cause. Companies must also adopt fair and strategic pay policies, driven by compensation systems and reliable data.”

Curious about German employment and labour laws?

Compared to the UK and Germany, France has a lower unadjusted gender pay gap. While this could usually be attributed to a high percentage of women in senior positions, for France that’s actually not the case. 

France has one of the highest rates of women in tech across Europe – almost half. However, only 15% of these women are in senior positions. What contributes to France’s low unadjusted pay gap is also the smaller proportion of men in senior positions (24%) compared to women.

France was voted the fastest rising country in the tech space in 2023, growing its headcount by x2.5 times since 2018. So why are there so few women (and men, comparatively) in senior positions in tech?

One theory could be that France is simply later to the growth game than other countries. In 2014, it only produced 5% of new $1B+ tech companies in Europe, while last year that figure rose to 12%.


Unfortunately, France also has one of the highest adjusted gender pay gaps. This means that, while there are less women and men in senior positions, men are still getting paid 3.8% more than women for doing the same role. This is effectively making women work for nearly two weeks per year for free compared to their male counterparts performing the same job.

Interested in learning more about French employment and labour laws?

The Netherlands has one of the highest adjusted gender pay gaps throughout Europe. It means women are paid less than men for doing the same role compared to all other countries analysed. 

So why is The Netherlands falling behind when it comes to paying women equally for the same job as men? It’s difficult to say, but Ravio data suggests that the problem might be originating from certain functions. 

When we dig in, Ravio data shows that the Finance function in Dutch tech has a much higher adjusted gender pay gap, at 10%, than other functions. This means that women working in finance in tech companies throughout The Netherlands earn roughly 10% less than men for doing the same job. 

This could be a result of men entering the finance sector in Dutch tech negotiating higher salaries than women. Ravio data found that women and men receive similar rates of promotion and promotion-based pay increases, and so where there is a gender pay gap present, it’s usually introduced at the point of hire.

“Men are often said to negotiate more than women, and perhaps companies also allow men more room for manoeuvre. That is why a clear reward philosophy, reliable data and guidelines regarding equal pay are so important. Otherwise, skewed growth will occur.” 

It’s commonly suggested that the Nordics have better equality measures in place than other countries around the world. But Ravio’s data shows that while Sweden is leading in some areas, it isn’t coming out on top across the board. 


Sweden has an unadjusted gender pay gap of 16%, which is the lowest across Europe. This is down to Sweden’s positive representation figures. 


With 41% of women in Swedish tech, 15% of those are in senior positions. Men on the other hand represent only 24% of senior positions. The gap of 9pp between men and women is what keeps Sweden’s unadjusted rate low. 


Women also appear to find it easier to enter the Swedish tech market – a result of many different factors, including culture, education, and legislation.  


However, it’s important to note that Sweden does have significant room to improve. Sweden’s adjusted pay gap sits higher than other countries in Europe at 3.4%, meaning that women are effectively not being paid for around 12 days a year compared to men.

In July 2024 Sweden was the first EU member state to share a proposal for how they will implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive into Swedish law, and their plans suggest they will go above and beyond the required rulings – so it's clear they're serious about making those improvements.

"Sweden's impressive gender equality stats aren't by chance. It's a mix of strong cultural leanings towards fairness, smart government policies like shared parental leave, and an education system that pushes gender equality from the get-go. Swedish companies also deserve a nod; they're big on diversity and making sure everyone gets a fair shot. Plus, practical measures like affordable childcare make a huge difference."

Achieving gender pay equity and balanced representation in senior positions across Europe remains a significant challenge. The data from Ravio's report highlights persistent gaps and disparities that demand attention and action. It's clear that the lack of women in higher-paying roles is a major driver of the unadjusted pay gap, while the adjusted pay gap underscores ongoing inequities even for those in similar roles.


Curious to learn more about the gender pay gap in Europe and how your country measures up? Speak to our team or download our comprehensive pay equity report today and join the movement towards a fairer and more equitable workplace for everyone.

Download our pay equity report to find out more today

How does the gender pay gap vary across Europe?

Data from 250 People leaders revealing how they are prioritising pay equity and what initiatives they are putting in place to close the gender pay gap.

European tech’s unadjusted gender pay gap is 25%, that means the average woman in tech earns 25% less than the average man. 

However, when we look at the gender pay gap as a like-for-like comparison between men and women doing equal work (known as the adjusted gender pay gap), then women earn 2.5% less than men.

Although companies are trending in the right direction, it’s clear that there’s still work to be done to balance out the gender scales – especially when it comes to pay equity and gender representation. 

Worse still, with the EU Pay Transparency Directive coming into effect soon, there’s going to be increasing scrutiny on companies’ pay practices. 

But one question remains: what are People leaders actually doing to address pay inequities?

We recently sent out a survey to over 250 People leaders to answer this question. You can find the results in our recent pay equity report, as well as right here, where we’ll be exploring what progress companies are making and how People leaders are prioritising pay equity in 2024.

💡 Table of contents

Part 1: How do People leaders define “fair pay”?

What does fair pay mean for People leaders? 

Are companies working towards the same definition?

Part 2: What progress have tech companies made to improve pay equity, pay transparency, and gender representation? 

Part 3: Is pay equity a true priority for businesses today?

Does employee perception differ from People leaders?

When we asked People leaders what they’re doing to ensure pay equity within their company, we found that 60% have made pay fairness a core principle within their compensation philosophy.

But do People leaders have the same definition of fair pay? Or are companies working towards different ideals?

Here’s how some of our People leader survey respondents define fair pay:

“Employees earn approximately the same based on the value they add to the company – not basing it solely on tenure, years of experience etc.”

“That all employees are paid according to the skills and experience they bring regardless of any protected characteristic.”

“People are paid fairly for the job that they do – both inline with external market rates and  with their colleagues internally. Salary bands should be used for employees to be rewarded salary increases as they gain experience and perform well.”

It’s clear that there are some differences in how People leaders think about fair pay. 

Some feel it means paying employees based on the value they add to a company, focussing less on experience. Others might prefer to use external market data to understand what the value of that employee would be in the market, plus considering their level of experience.

With this spectrum of definitions in mind, let’s see what companies are doing to improve fair pay.

What progress have tech companies made to improve pay equity? 

Improving pay equity in your organisation shouldn’t just relate to closing the salary gap. 

Although it’s important, improving pay equity encompasses much more, including improving representation, ensuring you offer fair and equitable compensation, and improving communication and pay transparency within your organisation. 

When we asked People leaders what measures their company has taken towards pay equity, we saw that the majority (60%) have included pay fairness as a core principle in their compensation philosophy (click here to learn more about the difference between pay equity and pay equity).

Other top priorities included adjusting salaries to fix any pay disparities (48%), conducting a pay equity audit in order to understand existing pay disparities (47%), and using up-to-date salary benchmarks for data-backed compensation decisions (41%). 

It’s clear that, once People leaders have made pay fairness core to their compensation strategy, they know they must be data-informed in their decision-making.

What progress have tech companies made to improve pay transparency?

Pay transparency differs from pay equity. Whilst pay equity relates to ensuring employees are paid fairly and equitably for their job role and responsibilities, pay transparency refers to providing clarity to employees about why they receive compensation of a certain value. 

When we asked how People leaders planned on improving pay transparency in their organisation, results varied. 

Employees have access to the rationale behind our level framework, career frameworks, salary band structures etc – 31%

Employees have access to actual salary band ranges across the company’s organisation structure – 31%

Measured and published data on our gender pay gap to comply with legislation – 27%

Employees have access to actual salaries across the organisation (full transparency) – 23%

Removed salary expectation and history questions from the hiring process – 7%

The least adopted measure by far is that only 7% of companies have stopped asking job candidates about their salary history or expectations. In a previous blog on the causes of the gender pay gap, we found that this is a key component of removing unconscious bias from hiring processes. 

The most popular measure is to clearly communicate the company's compensation approach (job levels, salary bands, career progression pathways) to employees – though this is still only in place at a third of tech companies.

This is reflected in the experience of employees, too. 

Only 26% of female employees say they have a good understanding of how their salary compares to male colleagues, just 26% of female employees have a good understanding of performance and salary review processes, and just 12% have a good understanding of career and pay progression for their role.

“When managers fail to openly discuss career progression or to uniformly present opportunities, it fuels a belief among women that their professional growth isn’t valued. This can undermine women's confidence and prevent them from exploring opportunities further up the career ladder.”

Discover more insights like this in our Pay Equity in European Tech report

What progress have tech companies made to improve gender representation? 

When we asked People leaders if increasing the proportion of women across the team was a priority, the majority said yes – 78% of companies. 

For the companies where increasing female representation is not a priority, responses focused on a lack of understanding in senior leadership or there being other, more important, business priorities currently – suggesting that executive buy-in could be a barrier to pay equity.

“Executives and parent company do not think it is necessary or a priority.”

“There’s a lack of knowledge and understanding which means it is not a priority in our company. We have no diversity policy.”

“Because we are fundraising and that is the main focus at the moment.”

When we asked how People leaders planned on improving gender representation, a few main themes arose. 

Female employees are included in all interview panels – 61%

Talent acquisition and hiring managers are trained on unconscious bias – 50%

Flexibility on family responsibilities e.g. working hours, childcare support, generous parental leave policies – 49%

At least one female executive or c-suite team member has been appointed – 46%

A leader and management training scheme for women – 38%

Blind recruitment to remove initial gender bias in hiring – 30%

Involvement in education schemes e.g. staff members speaking in local schools about opportunities for women in tech – 28%

Supporting parental leave and addressing any issues in the hiring process are the most popular initiatives for companies looking to improve gender representation. 61% of companies are ensuring all interview panels include at least one female employee, and 50% train hiring managers on unconscious bias. Nearly half (49%) allow parents flexibility for family responsibilities.

We analysed the top 3 causes of the tech gender pay gap and identified that biases in the hiring process, a lack of female representation at senior levels, and the difficulties women face raising a family whilst trying to progress their career were key blockers to achieve pay equity. 

It’s clear that some tech companies are focussing in the right places, but many can still be more intentional in how they adjust their hiring practices and parental leave policies. 

Here’s what Elena Pantazi Read, Talent & Portfolio Partner at Northzone, had to say.

“Because of the speed of the tech industry, founders are tempted to go with the hiring funnel they have, often through their network, which can be very male-dominated. Where we’ve seen companies be really thoughtful about this is by proactively planning to hire for a certain percentage of diversity and taking the time to broaden the funnel because great female talent does exist, but it sometimes takes longer to unearth it.”

Is pay equity a true priority for businesses today?

We’ve seen what People leaders are doing to improve pay equity, pay transparency and gender representation. But initiatives aside, are businesses actually prioritising pay equity and closing the gender pay gap?

When we asked People leaders whether pay equity is a priority in their company, 86% of People leaders said that it was compared to only 14% who said no. 

This shows positive intent. For those companies that aren’t prioritising pay equity it comes down – once again – to senior leadership buy-in.

“It’s hard to get executives to buy into HR programmes.”

“Executives and our parent company do not think it’s an important priority.”

“Because c-level management is male only.”

Given that, in the majority of companies, it is the CEO who owns pay equity, it makes sense that this would be the major blocker – getting executives to understand the value and importance of pay equity is crucial.

How do employees feel about pay equity in their company? 

Employee perception matters. People leaders can make enormous strides in improving pay equity and representation, but if employees perceive reality differently, then you will still be fighting a losing battle. 

Unfortunately, there is still a disconnect between what companies are doing and what employees feel. Despite 86% of People leaders making pay equity a priority, just over half of employees (54%) think eliminating the gender pay gap is a priority for their company.

Companies must improve how they talk about pay equity and pay equity initiatives to their employees. 

This can include using employee focus groups to stress-test your pay equity plans, detailing your pay equity initiatives to employees, and demonstrating where you are making progress in your pay equity metrics (and where you’re not too!).

Looking forward: how can European tech improve?

While it’s promising that the majority of People leaders are prioritising pay equity in 2024, a gap remains between leadership intentions and employee perceptions. Ravio's survey data shows that despite many initiatives, significant work is needed to bridge these disparities.

With the EU Pay Transparency Directive adding external pressure, internal efforts must focus on effective communication and education about pay policies and the importance of gender representation. Senior leadership's commitment is crucial to ensure these policies are understood and impactful.

For a detailed look at how businesses are tackling these challenges, download our comprehensive pay equity report here.

Start improving pay equity, with data from our Pay Equity in European Tech report

86% of People leaders are prioritising pay equity in 2024

Discover what pay equity is, how it differs from pay equality, and the key reasons why pay equity can benefit your business.

Pay equity goes beyond being the right thing to do. It's soon-to-be a legal requirement for companies across the world. With the incoming EU Pay Transparency Directive and US pay transparency measures, organisations must manage their pay equity data soon, or face a risky game of high fines and potential brand damage.

But it does raise the critical question: how can companies guarantee fair compensation for all employees? And for those not monitoring pay equity, where do they even begin?

For many businesses, gathering and analysing pay equity data is daunting. The data is sensitive, and often housed in different places. You have the process of locating and centralising the data, and conducting a pay equity analysis to identify the pay gaps. It’s enough to scare even the most seasoned of compensation experts – let alone People teams in smaller organisations.

It’s unsurprising, then, why 95% of businesses are still struggling to implement effective, compliant pay equity strategies in 2024. In this post, we’ll cover what pay equity is and why it’s so important for your business, both this year and beyond.

Why is pay equity good for your business? 

Pay equity is a concept that ensures all individuals are fairly compensated for their work, irrespective of gender, age, race, or disability. Pay equity aims to eliminate any type of discrimination in compensation practices. It guarantees that everyone receives equal pay for similar work or work of equal value.

Typically, companies monitor pay equity through pay equity software – normally as part of a compensation management tool – or an Excel spreadsheet. Implementing this requires a well-defined levelling framework and a clear salary band structure. While spreadsheets are commonly used in many companies, they demand a huge amount of time, effort, and expertise to maintain, and are also prone to errors. 

On the other hand, pay equity software provides an instant overview of pay equity metrics. With compensation management software, it’s easy to conduct a pay equity analysis or pay equity audit, or easily benchmark a company against market data. 

Pay equity vs. pay equality: What's the difference?

Pay equity ensures that employees who perform the same or similar work are compensated equally. It follows the principle: "equal pay for work of equal value", which is central to pay equity legislation. And while differences in pay might exist due to factors like performance, location, or tenure – pay equity mandates that organisations cannot base these differences on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other demographic characteristic.

💡A quick note on unadjusted and adjusted gender pay gaps 

When we look at the pay gap within an organisation, we can do that in one of two ways. 

The unadjusted gender pay gap is a term that refers to the raw difference between the median earnings between men and women. It does not account for any factors such as job level, race, age, country, or function. Instead, it provides a straightforward comparison but may not reflect important differences in job roles or other relevant factors.

The adjusted pay gap is a way of controlling the raw data to account for external factors such as job level and country. The aim is to understand whether people are receiving equal pay for equal work. Because there are so many factors which impact pay discrimination towards women, the adjusted gender pay gap can be a more valuable metric to help companies identify where pay discrepancies are coming from.

For more information on adjusted and unadjusted gender pay gaps, check out our blog here ➡️

In contrast, pay equality addresses the broader issue of whether men and women earn the same on average across an organisation. It looks beyond a job-to-job comparison. Instead, it aims for the average salaries (mean or median) of all female and male employees to be equal, irrespective of their roles within the company.

Imagine a technology company where both John and Sarah are software engineering managers with similar levels of experience and responsibility. 

Pay equity is achieved if John and Sarah receive the same salary for their similar roles, reflecting equal pay for equal work regardless of their gender, age, race, or other characteristics. 

Pay equality, on the other hand, focuses on the average earnings of all female employees being equal to the average earnings of all male employees across the entire company. It addresses the overall balance of earnings between genders within the entire organisation, highlighting the systemic issues that influence these outcomes.

What does the unadjusted Ravio data tell us?

If John and Sarah are both managers in the UK, Sarah would earn 17% less than John. This disparity varies across different job levels within the same company:

At the Support level, the gender pay gap is non-existent, with women earning the same as men. Women are also better represented at this level, comprising of 53% of the workforce.

At the Professional level, the gap widens considerably, with women earning 25% less than their male counterparts and representing 39% of the professionals.

At the Manager level, where John and Sarah are positioned, women like Sarah face a 17% pay gap and make up 36% of their tier.

Interestingly, at the Executive level, there is no gender pay gap. Both genders earn the same, but women represent only 22% of executive roles, indicating a significant underrepresentation at the highest levels of the organisation.

🤝 Want to see how Ravio can help you manage your pay equity data?

Understanding the importance of fair compensation for employees is crucial. However, implementing it can be more complex. For instance, determining what is a fair and equitable salary can be challenging due to the vast amount of available data.

Next, we'll outline four key reasons why pay equity benefits your business.

1. Compliance with pay equity legislation 

One of the main reasons pay equity is so important for business is to ensure companies comply with any legislation around it. As we’ve mentioned, the biggest change on the horizon is the incoming EU Pay Transparency Directive. This huge piece of legislation will come into effect across EU countries, including France, Germany, and more by 2026. The aim? To remove discrimination and ensure equal pay across men and women.

It affects all EU businesses and companies with more than 100 employees based in EU member states. And despite it coming into full force in less than two years, Ravio’s Compensation Report shows that nearly half (45%) of organisations believe the implementation of the legislation is still too far away to be a priority.

It’s crucial that companies get on the front foot when it comes to pay equity data. Doing so too late may come at a high cost for your business.

“Pay transparency allows workers to detect and prove possible discrimination based on sex. It also shines light on gender bias in pay systems and job grading that do not value the work of women and men equally ... Since such bias is often unconscious, pay transparency can help raise awareness of the issue among employers and help them identify discriminatory gender-based pay differences.”

According to Gartner research, only 32% of employees believe their pay is fair. And whether or not that’s actually true can oftentimes be irrelevant. When it comes to retaining your best talent, it’s important to control perception. 

The same study found that employees who perceive their pay as unequitable have a 15% lower intent to stay with their employer than those who don’t. What’s more, for those who do stay, engagement at work is down by 13%.

Ravio’s data tells a similar story. We found that the median tenure of an employee in a European tech company is 1 year and 9 months. To improve this, we found that 78% of People teams are increasing their focus on up-skilling, pay transparency, and salary reviews using benchmarking data. This is all geared towards having better pay equity in the future. 

At the leadership level, our upcoming Pay Equity report highlights a significant gender disparity in executive positions. Specifically, male executives tend to stay in their roles 46% longer than their female counterparts. While pay equity is a huge, contributing factor – our new report will explore this issue in greater detail, among other findings.

👀 Keep an eye out to access our full report soon!

Pay equity inherently fosters a diverse workforce. By ensuring fair compensation free from discrimination based on gender, race, age, disability, or other characteristics, companies create an environment conducive to a thriving diverse team. This is a significant advantage in attracting talent. For instance, the PwC ‘Women in Tech’ report reveals that 83% of survey respondents actively seek employers renowned for their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The benefits of diversity and inclusion also extend beyond ethical considerations—they directly enhance business performance. Research by McKinsey shows that diverse companies are now more likely than ever to outperform less diverse peers on profitability. In fact, gender-diverse teams on the executive level are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability. Companies in the top quartile with ethnic- and culturally-diverse teams also outperform those in the fourth quartile by 36%. It’s clear that the higher the diversity, the higher the chance of outperformance.

The importance of pay equity goes beyond compliance and employee retention. It significantly influences workplace morale and the culture you aim to establish as well. Employees who perceive their compensation as fair experience increased satisfaction and a stronger sense of belonging. These are both vital for boosting productivity, job satisfaction, innovation, and an enriched workplace culture.

What’s more, demonstrating a commitment to fair pay not only reflects positively on your brand but also pays dividends. A 2022 Edelman report indicates that 60% of job candidates choose employers based on alignment with their personal values and beliefs, underscoring that fair and equitable compensation is crucial in attracting and retaining the best talent.

The average time it takes to conduct a comprehensive pay equity audit varies between 2 - 5 months. It’s dependent on whether you have someone in-house, or whether you rely on a third party vendor. 

Whatever it is, a pay equity review is not a simple, linear process. It typically has several re-runs, where you need to find and address the complexities in your data and measure the impact of your changes. 

While every company has their own requirements for pay equity software, below are some of the basics of a pay equity software product. It must be able to:

Compare workers across cohorts such as age, gender, race, education level, and other protected identities

Analyse compensation plans to identify gaps and potential issues for risk mitigation

Share actionable insights and create a remediation plan to address disparities

Some benefits of managing pay equity through Ravio include:


Gain a holistic view of your pay equity data: Access an easy-to-use dashboard that breaks down your pay equity data across job functions, levels, and countries. Gain a snapshot view of your company’s pay gaps across both gender and age, and benchmark your company against the market in seconds. 

Attract and retain the best talent out there: Always be on the frontfoot by addressing pay gaps or concerns before they become an issue, helping you to attract and retain the best talent out there.

Communicate the importance of pay equity to your leadership: Use the dashboard to showcase where your organisation sits when it comes to pay equity, helping to communicate focus areas and generate buy-in from senior leaders. 

Pay equity is essential for any business, directly influencing organisational health by retaining top talent, enhancing morale, and strengthening your brand's integrity. By adopting transparent and fair compensation practices, your company not only meets global standards but also fosters a culture where every employee feels valued.

Want to see how you can monitor your pay equity data with ease? Book a demo with one of our team today.

Pay equity explained: What it is and why it matters

This webinar unpacks key findings from Ravio's recent pay equity report, including the difference between the unadjusted and adjusted gender pay gap, the state of gender representation, and why there are so few female leaders in European tech.

One of the biggest focus areas for companies today is improving the gender pay gap. But doing that isn’t a simple task. What does the gender pay gap really look like? What other factors are at play? 


In Ravio’s recent webinar, host Merten Wulfert, CEO and Founder at Ravio, unpacks some key insights from our recent pay equity report. He discusses the broader topic of representation and the adjusted and unadjusted gender pay gap with the panel: Vaso Parisinou, Chief People Officer at Ravio and Emma Baker, Chief of People Operations and Reward at Zoopla.


The unadjusted and adjusted gender pay gaps, the difference between the two, and why this matters

How pay equity varies across Europe, and which countries are leading the way

What factors contribute to the lack of female leaders

Not got time? Here’s some key takeaways from the discussion.

There are different types of gender pay gaps, and a huge representation problem

The gender pay gap is not simply just a gap in wages. There are different ways to look at the gender pay gap, which can usually be broken down into the unadjusted gender pay gap and the adjusted gender pay gap. 

Clear the path to pay equity

Automate pay equity analysis

Instantly identify pay gaps in your organisation

Understand how to fix pay gaps

Communicate transparently

Become compliant

Explore popular resources

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Pay equity explained: What it is and why it matters

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