France has joined the United Kingdom in requiring employers to publicly report pay gaps between their male and female employees. But France is taking its commitment to pay equity to the next level. French employers that underpay women will be subject to fines beginning in 2019.
In France, women reportedly earn 9% less than men holding the same jobs. Accordingly, in September 2018, France enacted a law that requires companies with at least 50 employees to publish information about their gender pay gap. Detailed rules for the application of the legal measures to achieve pay equity were established through a decree published in January 2019.
