What is the EQUAL PAY AND OPPORTUNITIES Certification?
The Equal Pay and Opportunities Certification is a globally recognised standard, trusted by international companies for over a decade. It sets the gold standard for equal pay certification to prove your commitment to equal pay for equal work between women and men, ensuring fairness and compliance across your organisation. By obtaining certification, you foster transparency, good governance, and a culture of trust within your workforce while strengthening your company’s reputation and laying the foundation for a strong Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategy.
With the Equal Pay and Opportunities label, your organisation commits to ongoing improvement in pay practices, ensuring equal pay for work of equal value, equal opportunities, and the implementation of fair and equitable policies and processes throughout the employee life cycle.
Open to companies worldwide across all industries with 50 or more employees (including at least 10 women), this certification provides a competitive advantage in recruitment and retention, enhances team diversity, and contributes to a fairer society.
Stand out as a leader in workplace equality.
Get certified today.
HOW DOES THE EQUAL PAY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES CERTIFICATION WORK?
Salary analysis
Statistical experts from our accredited partners perform salary analyses using the ESF methodology or check Logib analyses according to the Certified Equal Pay label.
On-site audit
Following international quality standards, our auditing team makes sure EQUAL-SALARY requirements are met while assessing the following:
CEO/top management’s commitment to equal pay for all;
How well equal pay strategies are integrated into the HR processes and policies;
Employees’ perception of the company’s pay practices.
Certification
Depending on the results of the audit, your company is awarded the label Certified Equal Pay and Opportunities, by EQUAL-SALARY. You’re then free to promote your certification on your company communications, to prove that you support and practice equal pay in the workplace.
Monitoring reviews
Your certification is valid for three years. During this period, you will need to undergo two monitoring reviews, to show your ongoing commitment to a fair and non-discriminatory wage policy. You’ve come this far; keep up the good work!
EQUAL-SALARY certified companies leading by example
WHAT SETS EQUAL-SALARY APART?
Why ours is the certification your company needs
WE’VE GOT
The credibility
EQUAL-SALARY is the only non-profit organization to promote equal pay between women and men using a methodology developed in collaboration with the University of Geneva, Switzerland, whose statistical analysis of salary policies have been recognized by the Swiss Federal Court of High Justice.
The backing
We’re the only private certification whose development has been supported financially by a government.
The partners
Our certifications are implemented by world-leading auditing partners, lending serious credibility not only to EQUAL-SALARY but to the equal pay movement as a whole.
The security
Data integrity, security and robust processes are essential when it comes to payroll data. That’s why we are ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certified for best practices in information security management systems.
AUDIT PARTNERS
FOUNDING PARTNERS
Financially supported by FOGE, Swiss Confederation
Methodology developped with University of Geneva
Equal Pay and Opportunities Certification CHECKLIST
Things to know and what to expect when applying for the Certified Equal Pay and Opportunities, by EQUAL-SALARY label
In today’s business climate, it’s not enough to say your company supports equal pay for men and women. You need to prove it. Getting certified allows your organization to demonstrate good governance and transparency. It significantly improves your ability to attract and retain strong talent, especially female talent. It also allows your organization to anticipate the risk of any potential unequal pay case.
Fifty or more employees on a national activity, of which at least ten are women.
- Full salary data in digital format (Excel) or Logib Analyses (Switzerland)
- A well-documented salary policy
- Formalized HR processes
- The involvement of employees through surveys and interviews
- A gender pay gap of less than 5%
- A commitment to equal pay clearly supported by top management
- Fully implemented HR processes, including indicators implemented by gender
Transition to the Equal Pay and Opportunities label is possible for organisations that have obtained the Equal Pay label within 12 months of the initial salary analysis or within 12 months of the mid-term review analysis.
The costs of the certification depend on the size of the organization (number of employees and number of sites). They include the Certification fees, the salary analysis and the on-site audits.
The EQUAL-SALARY methodology is compliant with the requirements defined in the Equality Act (LEg). Thus, an EQUAL-SALARY certified company having passed the salary analysis as of July 2020 will not need to proceed to any other analysis in order to be compliant.
Moreover, the Equal Pay and Opportunities label goes beyond a salary analysis and includes an audit which checks the top management’s commitment and existence of efficient HR processes in order to continually improve the status of gender equality in the company.
QUANTITATIVE PHASE:
Statistical analysis of salary data to measure the gender pay gap within the company and a list of individual discrepancies to be explained or addressed, where applicable.
QUALITATIVE PHASE:
On site audit to assess the company’s overall commitment to equal pay, and its implementation in HR processes. Employees are involved through surveys and interviews.
Depending on your preparation and readiness, the process takes minimum 4 to 6 months. The internal workload for the organization’s staff takes approx. 20 days.
The Equal Pay and Opportunities label? is valid for three years. Following the main initial audit, the organisation will need to undergo two monitoring audits in years 2 and 3.
LET'S TALK EQUAL PAY
Vevey/Aarau, April 16, 2025 – The EQUAL-SALARY Foundation is pleased to announce the official recognition of the SGS Fair-ON-Pay Advanced certificate, developed by the Fair-ON-Pay Association, as a valid salary…
Vevey/Bern, 9 April 2025 – The EQUAL-SALARY Foundation and the Women in Power network are announcing a partnership aimed at strengthening the principles of equal pay, equal opportunity, and fair…
Vevey, Switzerland, March 31, 2025 – The Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs (DFI) recently published a concerning report[1] on the implementation of the new equality law in Switzerland. According…
