The debate over salary transparency has brought attention to visible changes like publishing salary ranges in job postings, removing questions about a candidate's previous salary, and allowing employees to know how much their colleagues earn. However, a less obvious challenge for employers is the need to justify pay differences between men and women in the same category of work using objective, non-sexist criteria. Many companies reportedly lack clear answers to this issue. The EU Directive 2023/970, adopted on May 10, 2023, required member states to implement its provisions by no later than June 7, 2026. France missed this deadline, and the necessary legislation was submitted to the Council of Ministers on September 10, 2026. However, the delay does not offer a reprieve, as the principle of equal pay for equal work is already enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the French Labor Code. Courts can already enforce this principle. Under the directive, companies must submit their first report on pay disparities by June 7, 2027, covering the previous year. This means salaries paid in 2026 will be analyzed. If an employee claims discrimination, the employer must prove there was none, as outlined in Article 18 of the directive. Reporting frequency depends on the number of employees: annually for companies with 250 or more, every three years for fewer, with a gradual transition for those with 100 to 149 employees. Article 10 of the directive mandates a joint assessment of salaries with worker representatives if three conditions are met: a 5% average salary gap between men and women in a category of workers, the employer has not justified this gap with objective, non-sexist reasons, and the gap has not been corrected within six months of the report. France’s proposed legislation may differ, as it does not include the 5% threshold, which would be set by decree. If an unexplained gap exceeds this threshold, the employer would have to initiate negotiations on professional equality as outlined in the French Labor Code. The term "category of workers" refers to employees who perform the same work or work of equal value. A small overall pay gap can hide significant disparities in certain categories, while a large overall gap might be explained by the distribution of men and women across professions. Equal value is determined by skills, efforts, responsibilities, and working conditions, as outlined in the directive. This means two different jobs can be classified as the same category, highlighting potential limitations in current job classification systems. To prepare for the directive, four initiatives can be undertaken now: 1. Ensure payroll data is accurate, as the directive defines salary broadly, including base pay and other components, whether in cash or in kind. 2. Group jobs of equal value based on the criteria in the directive, not just job titles. 3. Measure both the explained and unexplained pay gaps by separating the portion justified by factors like seniority, experience, or qualifications from the unexplained portion. 4. Document and quantify the criteria used for determining and adjusting salaries, making them accessible to employees. Criteria that are not clearly written cannot be used to justify pay differences. Quantifying the cost of adjustments now allows companies to spread these costs over time rather than facing them all at once.