Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Lithuania (Ratification: 1994)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention: Assessing and Addressing the Gender Pay Gap. In its report, the Government indicates that, in 2022, the gender pay gap across the whole economy (considering enterprises with 10 or more employees, and excluding agriculture, forestry, and fishing enterprises) remained unchanged at 11.1 per cent compared to 2021. It further notes that the largest gender pay gaps were recorded in enterprises engaged in financial and insurance activities (31.8 percent), information and communication (28.4 percent), and human health and social work activities (25.6 percent). Conversely, women’s average gross hourly earnings exceeded those of men in enterprises engaged in transportation and storage, and construction activities, resulting in negative gender pay gaps of minus 11.9 per cent and minus 3.6 per cent respectively. The Committee notes the Government’s identification of several key factors contributing to the gender pay gap in Lithuania: women’s dual roles in the market economy and family care economy; different employment and unemployment rates for women and men; horizontal and vertical segregation of women in the labour market; discrimination against women in decision-making and governance; rising unemployment among educated women; challenges in balancing professional and family life and the prevalence of part-time work; discrimination against women during recruitment; gender pay discrimination (lower pay for work of equal value); etc. A significant concern is the rise in unemployment among high-skilled and higher-educated women, with the most affected age groups being 30–39, 35–44, and 50–59. The Government highlights that: (1) the training program "Women and Senior Equality Planning in Workplaces in Private and Public Enterprises for Employers," was adjusted in 2020 to include a new theme on the obligation for employers with 50 or more workers to implement gender equality policies through gender equality plans; (2) the creation of the Lithuanian Research Council of the Gender Equality Plan Justification and the Gender Equality Plan Design Scheme for Higher Education and Education Institutions" in 2021; and (3) the development of separate State programs for equal opportunities for women and men (Social Mobilization Development Program, the Family Policy Strengthening Development Program) following the enactment of the Law on Strategic Management of the Republic of Lithuania on 1 January 2022. The Committee welcomes the organization by the State Labour Inspectorate (SLI) of 75 seminars and campaigns to educate employers and workers about the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men at Work, focusing on equal pay and value. These events involved 2,978 participants and promoted workplace gender equality. The Committee also observes that, according to Eurostat data from 2022, the unadjusted gender pay gap (the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women expressed as a percentage of the average gross hourly earnings of men) decreased from 14 per cent in 2018 to 12 per cent in 2022. The Committee expects the Government to continue its efforts and to provide information on the specific measures and outcomes of activities undertaken to effectively address: (i) the root causes of the gender pay gap; (ii) discrimination faced by the identified age groups of women; and (iii) unemployment among high-skilled and higher-educated women. Furthermore, the Committee requests information on the impact of: (i) the new Law on Strategic Management; and (ii) the creation of the Lithuanian Research Council’s Gender Equality Plan Justification and the "Gender Equality Plan Design Scheme for Higher Education and Education Institutions" on the gender pay gap in the country.

Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Legislation. The Government indicates in its report that, according to the legal doctrine, the State Labour Inspectorate (SLI) has observed that: (1) “same work” means the performance of a work activity that, according to objective criteria, is the same or similar to another work activity to the extent that both employees can be exchanged without greater costs to the employer; (2) “equivalent work” means that, according to objective criteria, this work is no less qualified and no less significant for the employer in achieving its operational goals than other comparable work; and (3) the ‘value’ of the work should be determined and compared against objective criteria such as education, professional and training requirements, skills, effort and responsibility, the work performed and the nature of the tasks performed. The Committee observes that in female-dominated sectors such as health (83.5 per cent women) there is a gender pay gap (25.6 percent) favouring men and in male-dominated sectors like construction (87.2 per cent men), the wage gap (11.9 percent) favours women. In that regard, the Committee wishes to recall the importance of ensuring that the job evaluation method selected is equally tailored to both female- and male-dominated jobs. The Committee notes with regret that, once again, the Government has not provided information about the application in practice of section 26(2)(4) (an employer shall ensure equal pay for work of equal value) and section 140(5) (men and women shall receive equal pay for the same or equivalent work) of the Labour Code. In light of the persistent gender pay gap, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on: (i) how it is ensured that the job evaluation method used in the country is free from gender bias, including in sectors where one gender is predominantly represented; and (ii) the application in practice of sections 26(2)(4) and 140(5) of the Labour Code. Please provide examples of how the terms “work of equal value” and “equivalent work” have been interpreted in administrative or judicial decisions.

Article 2. Minimum wages. The Government indicates that the percentage of employees who received a minimum monthly wage or less in 2022 was 56.8 per cent for women and 43.2 per cent for men. The Committee observes that the extracts of collective agreements for certain branches provided by the Government refer to certain minimum wage fixing machineries but no information is given on how gender neutrality is ensured throughout the process of fixing minimum wages through collective agreements. The Committee once again asks the Government to indicate how it is ensured that, in defining minimum wages through collective agreements, rates are fixed based on objective criteria, i.e. that female-dominated occupations are not undervalued compared to those in which men predominate.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation in the public sector. The Committee takes note of the Government general information concerning the classification of civil service positions, and the calculation of the remuneration of heads of civil service institutions, state politicians, municipality officers, public officials, and judges. It however notes that this information does not include data on the wages of public sector employees, disaggregated by sex, occupational category and positions, nor indications on how it is ensured that the classification system in the Public Service is free from gender bias. In this respect, the Committee wished to refer the Government to its General Survey of 2012 on the Fundamental Conventions, paragraph 666. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on how the methodology used in the civil service and for state and municipal employees to classify and rank different jobs and positions.To allow a better of the gender pay gap in the public sector, the Committee asks the Government to: (i) collect and compile statistical information disaggregated by sex regarding the distribution of women and men in different occupational categories or sectors of the economy, and their respective levels of earnings; and (ii) provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to specifically combat occupational segregation in the public sector and more generally in the labour market, thereby enabling women to have access to better paid jobs, occupations and positions, into sectors of activity dominated by men, and to make occupational gender diversity a priority of its employment policy.

Awareness-raising. The Government informs the Committee about some of the activities undertaken by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson to promote the principle of the Convention and public awareness regarding the persistent underlying causes of pay inequality and the relevant legislative provision, such as for example: (1) the “Municipal Success Code – Gender Equality” project, providing 60 trainings (where 450 municipal staff participated) in all Lithuanian municipalities on gender mainstreaming in the preparation of strategic documents, during which the issue of the pay gap was also analysed; (2) the launch of a social campaign presenting the first map of gender equality in municipalities and structured data (highly organized, factual and to the point) on wage differences in all municipalities of Lithuania, as well as of a training for employers on the implementation of equal opportunities and the development of equal opportunities policies, focussing on the pay gap as a consequence of gender inequality and a form of gender discrimination; (3) the development of a new standard called “Equal Opportunities Wings”, which allows organisations to self-assess their achievements in the field of equal opportunities. In 2020, 9 companies and organisations from the public and private sectors gained the Equal Opportunities Wings; (4) the creation of an animated film “Gender equality in workplaces”, illustrating the benefits of planning equality between women and men in the workplace in areas such as pay, career, work-life balance, safe working atmosphere, and gender-based harassment and sexual harassment; and (5) the organisation by the SLI of 98 events (attended by 2,933 persons) focusing on labour relations, including issues about equal opportunities for women and men at work, such as equal pay for equal work or equal value. The Committee welcomes these initiatives. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on its evaluation of the impact of these measures on the evolution of the gender pay gap in the country.

Enforcement. The Government indicates that the SLI has conducted targeted inspections to detect gender-based wage discrimination in the financial and insurance sector, with special attention to remuneration systems considering they have the biggest gender pay gap in the country. It further adds that between 2020–22, 70 inspections were conducted, identifying: (1) nine violations, without any signs of direct discrimination related to the gap between men's and women's wages; (2) that not all employees are paid the same wages for the same work or work of equal value but also that wage differences occur in favour of both men and women, and the formation of this difference is determined by objective reasons, such as employee qualifications, education and professional experience; (3) within the companies inspected, the departments that offer lower wages tended to have a higher representation of women, whereas departments offering higher wages tended to be predominantly staffed by men; (4) not a single request to examine a labour dispute regarding equal opportunities for women and men regarding pay; and, (5) six complaints and reports of public interest, which contained questions about equal opportunities for women and men in terms of wages, of which five complaints were confirmed. The Committee also notes that the SLI also conducted 30 planned studies on compliance with the principles of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in companies with the largest wage gap between women and men, resulting in six violations of legal provisions: one infringement due to non-compliance with the general provisions of the Labour Code, and five infringements concerning the establishment of the remuneration system. Against this background, five inspected companies were given recommendations, and requirements to remedy the identified infringements were drawn up. The Committee takes note of the Government’s statement that between 2020–23, eight complaints were addressed to the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, where women applicants have applied for a potentially lower salary than men, in the art and medical sector, with the discrimination not being corroborated, as it was found that the complainant performed a different type of work, complex, with different qualifications and different job functions. In addition to the complaints, 20 queries were submitted to the same authority during the mentioned period. The Committee wishes to recall again that, where no cases or complaints, or very few, are being lodged, this is likely to indicate a lack of an appropriate legal framework, lack of awareness of rights, lack of confidence in or absence of practical access to procedures, or fear of reprisals (General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 870). The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the application in practice of the Convention, including: (i) measures taken to strengthen the capacity of labour inspectors to detect and address unequal remuneration between men and women, as well as to assist workers with the procedures and remedies available; (ii) the infractions detected by the Labour Dispute Committees, the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson or the courts, as well as the penalties imposed and remedies provided; and (iii) on any measures taken or envisaged to promote the enforcement of the principles of the Convention.