The fight for equal pay transcends country borders. International consensus on closing the pay gap took a significant step when, in late-2017, during a United Nations General Assembly meeting, the International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nations Women, and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) launched a global partnership focused solely on pay equity – the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC).

Charged with closing the gender pay gap by 2030, EPIC presents a new intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder approach to address pay disparities worldwide. 

In its concept note, EPIC states that it aims to be an “engagement platform for collaborative global, regional and national action that will be supported through advocacy, knowledge sharing, capacity building, workshops and conferences, technical advisory services, data analysis and monitoring.” It plans to aid legislative change and enforcement of equal pay initiatives at the national level and engage with civil society leaders for change from the bottom up.

While only in its early stages, EPIC has launched at regional levels across the globe. EPIC held its first stakeholder meeting in Berlin. It then officially launched in Latin America and the Caribbean and came out in Asia and the Pacific at a conference on Women and the Future of Work – all in roughly six months!

This showing of international consensus on closing the gap acts to underscore the movements to come, especially given the international forum to support these initiatives. Equal pay legislation already passed in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations and localities.