The equal-salary foundation

Meet the team

Thibault Dubois, Operations officer

“Equal pay is a powerful driver for moving towards a fair and inclusive society. Guaranteeing the same income for women and men is the very first step in ensuring gender equality. Today, being EQUAL-SALARY certified is an asset. I hope that one day it will become a must for companies and job seekers.”

Aurélien Joly, Communication and fundraising manager

“Equal pay is not only the right thing to do, it is also common sense. Enforcing actual equal pay for equal work shows good governance; empowers individuals, families, companies and society in every respect. The EQUAL-SALARY Foundation does exactly that and I am proud to be part of it.”

Hans Geene, Impact & Markets partner

“The gender pay gap is unfair and unwanted. It persists nonetheless. I am determined to help close this gap. The EQUAL-SALARY Certification is a great label for any organisation to demonstrate their commitment to a pay gap-free society.”

ON THE LAUNCH OF EQUAL-SALARY

It all started in 2005, realizing that while most companies claimed to have equal pay, statistics showed there was a significant gender pay gap in Switzerland and in all parts of the globe.

My wish was to provide a practical & positive solution to a complex issue, to allow organizations to walk the talk on equal pay, because “money talks”.

From the start, my vision was to make EQUAL-SALARY the ISO for wages.

To bring credibility and create trust with companies, I wanted to a model based on strong partnerships with recognized players.

I started by approaching Professor Yves Flückiger of University of Geneva whose expertise on salary data analysis had been retained by the Swiss Federal Court. The case made jurisprudence in December 2003.

I then approached SGS, world leader in certification and inspection.

Both organizations readily agreed to collaborate to the development of EQUAL-SALARY.

EQUAL-SALARY has been a fantastic adventure with many memories. One of them is feeling on top of the world upon receiving the financial support of the Swiss Office of Gender Equality to develop the certification process.

Developing the EQUAL-SALARY standard was thorough, precise, spreading over two years, done together with a steering committee of experts in equality, certification, salary analysis, human resources management, and ethical ranking.

In 2008, a pilot phase was launched. Seven organizations had expressed their interest in participating. Six companies were certified. The last one, which had a salary gap slightly over the 5% tolerance margin, revised and adapted its compensation and came back the following year to be certified.

The overall process was then evaluated, adapted, finalized. The first online platform was developed to manage the certification process and ensure confidentiality and security.

In 2010, the EQUAL-SALARY Foundation was created. A lot had been done and yet, it was only the beginning. Following the pioneers, one by one, companies came forward, getting certified, joining the movement for equal pay, setting an example for others to follow.

In 2015, the first multinational company became certified in Switzerland. Daringly, the company took the decision to extend it globally, impacting 90 countries and over 80’000 employees. This set a new milestone for the Foundation both in terms of type of organizations and scope.

The Foundation started to operate internationally, thanks to its partnership with leading audit partners SGS and PwC which had come on board too.

Each certification, private or public, small or big, Swiss or international, has been a celebration, a concrete step that it worked, that equal pay was becoming a reality.

In 2021, after being its CEO for 10 years, I had the ultimate satisfaction as founder to entrust the leadership of the EQUAL-SALARY Foundation to a dynamic duo to take it further and higher.

During all these years, I could count on the precious support of the board chaired for over 10 years by André Schneider, for which I am very grateful.

On a more personal note, I am proud to have overcome my doubts, to have decided to go for the big idea, to have turned the concept into reality. This has been done together with the huge crowd of believers that have joined the movement: certified companies, partners, board members, ambassadors known and unknown.

From the time I started creating it, I have become a grandmother of five grandchildren.

EQUAL-SALARY will impact my grandchildren’s generation, hopefully sooner than later.

Last but not least, I am proud of the impact on women’s life and beyond that EQUAL-SALARY has and will have.

Véronique Goy Veenhuys, Founder of the EQUAL-SALARY Foundation.