The Spanish legal framework for ensuring compliance with gender pay gap transparency

Abstract

This chapter explores the last Spanish initiative to address the Gender Pay Gap (GPG) through new equality legislation adopted in 2019. This legislation introduced three pivotal pay transparency tools: legal guidelines for Job Evaluation Systems, Pay Audits and a Pay Register. In 2020, two executive orders further refined these tools and expanded corporate responsibilities through Equality Plans, with additional reinforcements to actively reduce and correct the GPG in Spain. Beyond legal mandates, some companies voluntarily embraced internal rules as part of their commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This chapter assesses the potential effectiveness of both current hard-law and soft-law Spanish mechanisms to encourage corporate adherence to pay transparency. The chapter critically discusses the alignment of Spanish pay equity and transparency legislation with the newly adopted EU Pay Transparency Directive.