Today is International Equal Pay Day. A moment that should be about celebrating progress is instead a stark reminder of the hurdles that still remain on the road we still have ahead.

We once believed equal pay was a battle won. But the data tells a different story. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2025, the Netherlands has dropped 15 places in just one year, from 28th to 43rd in the global rankings on gender equality. A fall that reveals more than a data dip. It signals a system that’s still failing women and marginalised groups in the workplace.

We’re not just standing still. We’ve slipped backwards.

The Pay Gap Persists

How is it possible that in one of the world’s most developed economies, women continue to be valued less?

Despite higher education levels and a strong presence in the labour market, women in the Netherlands are still not paid equally. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2025, the Netherlands ranks only 64th worldwide on perceived wage equality for similar work (p. 279). This measure is based on survey data of business leaders’ perceptions, but the trend is clear: the situation is getting worse, not better.

The imbalance is visible beyond perceived differences in pay too, as the labour force participation of women is 61.2% compared to 74.8% for men (p. 279), and in leadership, only 34.3% of senior positions are held by women (p. 279).

These gaps are not just disappointing for a country that prides itself on equality; they’re alarming.

Beyond the Numbers

And yet, even these figures tell only part of the story. Pay and labour force data in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 are collected in a binary framework: men and women. That means the realities of non-binary and intersex people remain invisible in official datasets.

This lack of visibility isn’t about neglect, but about the inherent difficulty of collecting statistically reliable data for groups that are often small in number and not consistently recognised in national surveys. Without inclusive measurement, inequality can remain hidden.

Independent studies, however, suggest that non-binary and intersex people face additional barriers in the workplace, such as discrimination in hiring (EU Fundamental Rights Agency, 2020). These challenges make careers less stable, increase risks of unemployment, and contribute to long-term economic insecurity.

What This Means for Business

Everything.

Because the pay gap isn’t some distant social issue, it’s the direct outcome of everyday business decisions:

• Who you hire.
• Who you promote.
• How you set salaries.
• Who you hold up as role models.

If companies truly want to build a fair and inclusive economy, it starts here. Equal pay for equal work isn’t a bonus. It’s the baseline.

From Law to Lasting Change

Equal pay has been a legal right in the EU for decades – anchored in EU treaties and reinforced by the 2006 Equal Treatment Directive. What the new European Pay Transparency Directive (coming into force in June 2026) adds are stronger tools for detecting and enforcing those rules.

In the Netherlands, companies with 150 or more employees will be required to:

• Publish their pay structures, and
• Report pay differences between comparable roles.

This isn’t just a compliance exercise. It’s about making inequities visible, so that they can no longer be ignored. Transparency shines a light. But on its own, it doesn’t close the gap.

What B Corps Are Doing Differently

That’s where B Corps go further. They’re not just waiting to comply with disclosure rules, they’re already raising the bar through concrete action.

Across the Netherlands, many B Corps report experimenting with regular pay equity analyses, open salary scales, equal career pathways, and transparent HR policies. Not because they’re perfect, but because they see transparency as the starting point, not the finish line.

With the new B Corp Standards launched in April 2025, expectations are clearer than ever. Fair wages and pay equity are mandatory themes under the Fair Work Impact Topic. And importantly, these standards don’t just ask companies to disclose, they prescribe performance:

• At certification (“Year 0”), companies must already demonstrate how they value workers fairly.
• At Year 3 and Year 5, the requirements increase, ensuring continuous improvement over time.

As Bernard Gouw, Senior Manager of Social Standards at B Lab Global, explains: