Working women in the EU earn on average 16% less per hour than men. Although the equal pay for equal work principle was already introduced in the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the so-called gender pay gap stubbornly persists with only marginal improvements being achieved over the last ten years. Across the EU, during 2019 and 2020 the pay gap differs widely, being the highest in Estonia (25.6%), the Czech Republic (21.1%), Germany (21%), UK (20.8%), Austria (19.9%) and Slovakia (19.8%) in 2017. The lowest numbers can be found in Slovenia (8%), Poland (7.2%), Belgium (6%), Italy and Luxembourg (5% each) and Romania (3.5%). But even if a company or organization is aware of this fact, how can they measure and lower the gap?
Gapsquare, a UK based company, offers a product that provides pay analytics for inclusive employers. By providing data analytics software and consultancy around workplace equality practices, Gapsquare is supporting global companies to close their pay gaps and look after their employees better. Not only does this include gender, but broader, intersectional themes, helping employers to act on inclusive practice effectively and in an impactful manner. Dr Zara Nanu, a tech entrepreneur, CEO and Co-Founder of Gapsquare, is an expert on how diversity and inclusion can shape more dynamic and productive teams and a more engaging and empowering workplace. She has been at the forefront of women in business in the South West for nearly a decade and is an entrepreneur who believes business can generate social impact as well as revenues and profits. As the CEO of Gapsquare, Dr Zara helps companies comply with gender pay gap regulations and use data to narrow their gap faster. She founded the company after hearing the World Economic Forum predicted that it would take 217 years before the Gender Pay Gap could be closed.
Gapsquare has developed software that allows businesses to analyze and track pay disparity statistics and produce reports on equality and diversity data, ready to be presented to your team. “Our tech tool, backed by a team of equality and diversity experts, automates pay gap reporting, allows you to look at the impact of your pay reviews and develops equal pay audits saving hundreds of hours normally spent on analysis. Our main objective is to support companies with their gender pay gap, wider inclusive practice analysis and to provide data-driven insights to how they can improve diversity and inclusion on the whole”.
The company is now driving change for hundreds of thousands of employees across the globe hoping to achieve fair pay today. This is a motivation not only for women to become tech entrepreneurs, but it is proof of how women can fight for gender equality and generate social impact, by using technology.