The European Union wants to strengthen the principle of equal pay for men and women for equal work, and that is why a new directive has been prepared. This is not only to solve the differences between the incomes of women and men, but also establishes the obligation for companies to share information about the wages paid and to take measures if the gender pay gap is higher than 5%. In the Czech Republic, the gender pay gap has been around 16%. This topic was also addressed in more detail during one of the workshops of the conference, which was organized by the platform of responsible companies, Business for Society.

 “Men think they are creating an environment that is inclusive enough. And that it is only up to us women, that we are not assertive enough and are not willing to sacrifice our family and private life in order to build a career," said Martina Kučová from PwC Czech Republic in the discussion. "The topic is not sufficiently communicated and pay transparency will certainly help," added Lenka Hauptmanová from Faurecia Czech Republic.

Pavlína Kalousová from Plzeňský Prazdroj admitted in the discussion that the debates about the change of approach were not easy. “Men felt like they were being fingered because they were favored. And women felt they were disadvantaged. It was a very sensitive and difficult topic - how to raise it and how to start managing it in the company. Today, after three years, we are at three percent," she added. For this great effort the company Plzeňský Prazdroj won the prestigious European Equal Salary award. In addition to the topic of gender pay gap, the workshop also addressed the position of women in society and in the labor market.

The population is aging, Europe is facing new challenges

 The main discussion panel of the conference focused on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the context of inclusive green transition. "We are working intensively with our employees to teach them new digital skills and all our services. Our employees in this way teach our clients and prepare them for digitization. We also work with the older generation, for whom learning new things are not always easy," said Klára Escobar from MONETA Money Bank.

"However, not everyone is able to absorb new trends, we see it here too. A lot of people still want someone to physically come to their house and talk to them. We try to make our business diversified and everything balanced," noted Jitka Němečková from Provident Financial.

Also employment of people 50+ is still problematic. This group makes up a third of all unemployed people. Many of them have trouble finding a job, even though they are looking for it. "Some laws are outdated in many countries, they prevent active seniors from working. We want to break down these barriers and use their experience," said Joseph Gruber from Philip Morris CR in the discussion.

Equal opportunities help the green transition

"Europe has to face competition from all over the world, it has to become stronger, it is our priority. We have to try to convince those who are hesitating that we all have to go by the same train traveling on the same track and in the same direction,” said the Swedish ambassador H.E. Fredrik Jörgensen. 

"And we must not forget the synergy between environmental and social sustainability. We cannot achieve environmental sustainability without preparing people for it. We must prepare inklusive green transition and fair conditions " reminded the Director of Business for the company Pavel Štern.