By: Maria Trustrup, journalist, Pharmadanmark. Photo: Equalis
Equal pay for equal work.
It sounds obvious, right? Completely natural and fair?
Unfortunately, it is not the reality today.
Several statistics point to significant pay differences between men and women – and this is also reflected in Pharmadanmark’s salary statistics for 2025.
They showed that male members employed in pharmacies earned 3.3% more than female members, while the difference was 2.9% among members employed in the private sector.
The numbers may not sound dramatic, but when converted into actual money, they mean that men working in pharmacies earn on average DKK 2,083 more per month. Looking at private-sector employees, men earn DKK 2,399 more per month.
So we are facing a real challenge.
Women earn less than men, despite the fact that Denmark has an equal pay law that obliges employers to provide men and women with equal pay and equal pay conditions.
The issue is not isolated to Denmark. Across the rest of Europe there are also significant pay gaps, which is why the EU has introduced a directive aimed at ensuring greater pay transparency – and hopefully more equal pay for men and women.
“One of the areas that has stood still – and has done so for a long time – is equal pay.”
“The EU has for a long time been very focused on gender equality, and one of the areas that has stood still – and has done so for a long time – is equal pay. Across EU countries, the numbers are not really moving,” says Gine Maltha Kampmann.
She is the director of Equalis, a think tank that works to ensure equal opportunities in the labour market and to make sure all talent is brought into play.
New requirements for companies
According to Gine, there are two main reasons for the large pay gap between men and women – structural explanations and pay development at individual workplaces.
The structural explanations include the fact that Denmark has a highly gender-segregated labour market, where men and women work in different industries and sectors. At the same time, men are more likely to become managers, while women more often work part-time and take longer parental leave.
The new EU legislation is not primarily aimed at solving these structural challenges – it is mainly focused on uneven pay development within individual workplaces.
And this will be addressed through greater transparency in salaries.
More specifically, the new rules mean that companies must, among other things:
Categorise job functions – and thereby have a clear overview of which employees perform the same work or work of equal value
Establish objective and gender-neutral pay criteria – for example education, seniority, results, or level of responsibility, which will be used when determining salaries
Provide employees with access to salary information – employees will be able to obtain information about the average salary in different job function groups, which requires companies to have proper data in place
Disclose salary ranges during recruitment processes – before a salary negotiation with a new employee, the company must provide information about the starting salary and salary range for the specific position
Report on pay differences – large companies must prepare an annual report on pay differences between men and women, and if the difference exceeds 5%, the company is obliged to take action
It is still unclear exactly which rules Danish companies will have to comply with.
The EU directive must first be implemented into Danish legislation, and Danish politicians have not yet presented how the national rules will look.
The plan was originally for the directive to be implemented in Danish law by 7 June 2026, but Gine from Equalis expects this to be postponed.
“Companies have not yet received clarity on what the requirements will look like in practice, so I expect that the rules will first be implemented into Danish law at the beginning of 2027,” she says.
Access to salary data
Regardless of when the new rules come into effect, they will give individual employees entirely new rights.
The new rules mean that employees will gain the right to access salary information within their company.
“My clear recommendation is that people start asking for the data they are entitled to request.”
Specifically, you will be able to obtain information about the average salary for the group of employees who perform the same work or work of equal value as you – in other words, the salary level for the job function you perform.
“You are given new opportunities – and you should use them,” says Gine and continues:
“My clear recommendation is that people start asking for the data they are entitled to request. It is very valuable knowledge that can be used, for example, in salary negotiations.”
Gine emphasises that the new rules will not magically raise the salaries of all women overnight.
“It is important to remember that you still have to stand up for yourself. The new rules give you the right to more information – but you still have to make sure that you actually act on it,” she says.
What can I earn in a new job?
An important change that the new rules will also bring is greater pay transparency when applying for jobs.
In the future, the recruiting company must inform you about the starting salary or expected salary range before the job interview.
It is still unclear how the rules will be designed in detail, but the basic idea is that you should not risk underselling yourself during a hiring process.
The employer will have the first move, meaning they must present a salary figure first, after which you can state your expectations.
Companies will also no longer be allowed to ask what you currently earn or have earned in the past.
If we talk about it, things move
It is naturally far too early to say what effect the EU directive will have on the pay gap between men and women.
But according to Gine, the new rules have already had an indirect effect.
Companies have long been preparing for the upcoming pay transparency requirements, which means that many have already worked on categorising job functions and establishing transparent and gender-neutral pay criteria.
“Employers have had to ask themselves: What does it take to get a pay raise here? And what do people earn at different job levels?” says Gine and continues:
“The entire exercise of creating a salary structure based on objective criteria in itself helps drive greater objectivity in promotions and pay rises.”
The fact that companies are being pushed to focus on equal pay may therefore in itself help create greater pay equality.
“I hope that transparency itself will drive a positive change.”
“I hope that transparency itself will drive a positive change,” says Gine.
“Research has also shown that when there is greater pay transparency within a company, there is typically less pay inequality.”
Should we fix the system or the women?
The large pay differences between men and women are a complex challenge to fully resolve – and the new EU directive will likely not solve everything, Gine points out.
We still face challenges related to the gender-segregated labour market, part-time work and parental leave.
But the new rules are a good place to start.
“I think these are very positive steps. It is a good thing to ask for more data and structure and to create clear frameworks so companies know exactly what is expected of them,” says Gine.
“Where it becomes challenging, in my view, is the issue of bureaucracy. If companies see it as a pure compliance exercise, it will not move the needle much. Each company must take it seriously and see the strategic value in it – not just the fact that they need to comply with new rules.”
“This is a step towards fixing the system – not the women.”
Even though we do not yet know exactly where everything will land or what the final effects will be, Gine emphasises one final and very important point.
“The distinction between whether we want to fix the system or fix the women is important,” she says.
“And this is a step towards fixing the system – not the women. That is very positive.”