Global Pay Transparency: What Country Variations and Equity Programs Change, and What They Don’t

As the EU Pay Transparency Directive moves closer to enforcement in June 2026, many HR and Total Rewards leaders are realizing something important: this isn’t just another regulation to check off.

It’s a forcing function.

In our latest CandorIQ webinar, Chad Atwell,  our Head of Customer Success & Advisory  sat down with global compensation leader Giac Soliman to unpack what’s actually changing and what organizations need to do now to avoid scrambling later.

The conversation went far beyond legal requirements. Instead, it focused on how pay transparency reshapes job architecture, data readiness, manager capability, and trust across the organization.

“This isn’t an EU problem—it becomes a company-wide question very quickly,” Giac noted.

quickly,” Giac noted.

Below is my recap of the conversation, but you can catch the full webinar here (it’s worth the watch!).

Why Pay Transparency Feels So Unsettling Right Now

For many organizations, pay transparency has hovered on the horizon for years (maybe you’ve implemented some new policies here and there, but never fully committed). But with the EU deadline approaching, for companies with EU-based employees, the abstract has become concrete.

Three factors are driving anxiety:

1. The Rules Aren’t Fully Finalized, yet

While the EU directive sets a baseline, each member state is responsible for transposing it into local law. As of now, only a subset of countries have published draft interpretations, leaving companies uncertain about exact thresholds, timelines, and enforcement standards.

This ambiguity is uncomfortable but waiting for perfect clarity is riskier than preparing a solid baseline now.

2. The Scope Is Broader Than Many Expect

A common misconception is that the directive only affects large organizations. In reality, headcount thresholds apply mainly to external reporting. Core rights like employee access to pay information, transparency in job postings, and bans on salary history questions apply regardless of company size.

If you employ people in the EU, you’re already in scope.

“The only thing size really changes is how often you report, not whether the rules apply,” Chad clarified.

3. Transparency Is Cultural, Not Just Legal

As Giac put it, many organizations are realizing this isn’t “an EU requirement” that can be isolated.

When one segment of employees receives transparency protections and another doesn’t, questions inevitably follow. The organizations handling this best are defining global principles, then adapting execution locally rather than creating fragmented policies by geography.

“If 100 employees get transparency and 400 don’t, it starts to feel discriminatory very quickly,” Giac said.

What Does the Directive Actually Require?

At its core, the EU Pay Transparency Directive is designed to address persistent gender pay gaps and structural inequities.

Key elements include employee rights to pay information, transparency in recruitment, public reporting of gender pay gaps, and joint pay assessments when unexplained gaps exceed 5%.

Importantly, transparency extends beyond base salary. Bonuses, allowances, equity, benefits in kind, and other compensation elements may all be included—significantly raising the data and systems bar for many teams.

“This is total rewards—not just salary—and that’s where a lot of complexity comes in,” Chad emphasized.   

The Most Dangerous Misconception: “Only the Adjusted Gap Matters”

One of the most critical clarifications from the session was that organizations must publish both adjusted and unadjusted gender pay gaps.

While adjusted analyses control for role, level, and other factors, the unadjusted gap reveals structural realities—such as who holds senior, higher-paid roles.

That means reputational impact is tied to the raw number, not just the statistical explanation behind it.

“Your reputation is tied to the unadjusted figure—the cleaned-up version doesn’t replace it,” Giac explained.

Why Job Architecture Is the Real Starting Line

Pay transparency doesn’t create inconsistencies—it exposes them.

Nearly every downstream requirement depends on one foundation: clear job architecture. Without it, organizations struggle to define work of equal value, compare roles consistently, and respond to employee requests quickly.

The companies moving fastest aren’t waiting for final country rules. They’re fixing the basics now.

“To go fast later, you have to be willing to go slow first,” Giac said.

Pay Differentiation Still Exists—But It Must Be Defensible

Transparency does not mean uniform pay. Organizations can still differentiate based on role scope, performance, experience, and geography—but those differences must be consistent, documented, and explainable.

If managers can’t articulate why two employees are paid differently, that’s where risk begins.

“If you can’t explain it simply, you probably can’t defend it,” Chad noted.

Where Most Teams Will Struggle: Speed and Communication

A recurring theme throughout the webinar was response time. Many organizations don’t know how long it would take to fulfill an employee pay data request—and in some countries, the window may be as short as 14–30 days.

But even when data is ready, communication remains the biggest point of failure.

Managers—not HR—will field the toughest questions. Without proper training and toolkits, even well-designed frameworks can break down in execution.

“The work no one sees matters less than how managers show up when the questions start,” Giac said.

Pay Transparency Is a Change Management Project

Both speakers emphasized that success depends less on technical compliance and more on alignment.

That means engaging legal, finance, communications, and leadership early—and treating transparency as an ongoing capability, not a one-time rollout.

“This isn’t a comp project—it’s an organizational change project,” Chad summarized.

Can AI Help? Yes, with Guardrails

AI can accelerate analysis by identifying potential inequities and running regressions—but it should never make autonomous pay decisions.

Human judgment remains essential, especially where legal exposure and remediation are involved.

“AI can surface the risk—but it can’t own the decision,” Giac cautioned.

The Big Takeaway

Pay transparency isn’t arriving because regulators say so.

It’s arriving because opaque systems don’t scale in a world where employees expect clarity, fairness, and accountability.

Organizations that treat this moment as a structural upgrade rather than a compliance burden will be better positioned not just to comply, but to lead.

“AI won’t replace compensation teams—but teams who adapt faster will pull ahead,” Chad concluded.

Watch the full webinar here.