Pay equity is one of the W20’s main asks of G20 governments this year, and new ILO data released on November 3 show companies doing less of it. In the ILO’s 2025 enterprise survey, the share of firms implementing equal pay initiatives fell 19.6 percentage points from 2018. For employers, the finding bears on recruitment, retention and the targets the W20 wants G20 members to adopt.
What the new data show
The ILO report, “Women in business and management: Scaling success,” draws on a survey of 11,957 enterprises in 99 countries. Its executive summary says that, on average, women earn US$0.78 for every dollar earned by men.
Most surveyed enterprises have a policy in place. In 2025, 74.8% had a gender equality and diversity policy. But the share implementing initiatives fell from 37.4% in 2018 to 26.5% in 2025. The ILO lists equal pay (down 19.6 points) and maternity leave and support programs (down 11.3 points) among the declines.
The ILO press release also notes that 46.4% of women and 40.3% of men were enrolled in tertiary education in 2023.
What the W20 is asking
The W20 USA Presidency’s decent work brief, “Decent Work for Women,” opens with a call to close gender gaps in labor force participation and pay. It sets a target to reduce both gaps by 35% by 2035. The brief’s data snapshot puts the G20 gender gap in labor force participation at 18.0% in 2024 and the unadjusted gender wage gap at 15.4% for 2022/23. It also notes that about a third of employed women work in informal employment.
The ILO and W20 figures use different measures and coverage, so they are not directly comparable. Both point in the same direction.
The brief’s other recommendations cover gender-responsive AI governance, labor rights and social protection for informal and non-standard workers, and an end to forced labor and exploitative recruitment. It also asks G20 members to ratify and implement ILO Convention No. 189 on domestic workers and Convention No. 190 on violence and harassment at work.
What employers are being told
The ILO’s suggestions for enterprises include using gender metrics and voluntary targets and building gender equality into business strategy and accountability frameworks. Maria Paz Anzorreguy, director of the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities, said: “The evidence increasingly tells us what works. The priority now is to put it into practice and scale it.”
Sources
- Women in business and management: Scaling success, executive summary (ILO)
- Businesses report growing benefits from gender equality (ILO, November 3, 2026)
- W20 Advocacy Brief: Decent Work for Women (W20 USA Presidency)
- W20 Presidencies (Women 20)
- Gender equality pays off for business (UN News, November 3, 2026)
