Good practice

Ireland's Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021

Ireland · Dublin · See the Ireland profile

Ireland's 2021 Act mandates annual gender pay gap reporting; in the first cycle (December 2022) 500+ companies disclosed figures showing a mean gap of 12.6% and median of 8.37%, creating the country's first legally binding pay equity evidence base.

500+

Companies disclosing (Dec 2022)

12.6%

Mean gender pay gap (2022)

8.37%

Median gender pay gap (2022)

Ireland's Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY)
Period: 2021-present
Keywords: gender pay gap, pay transparency, equal pay, employment law, mandatory reporting

Context

Ireland's Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 mandates annual gender-pay-gap reporting by employers.

Results

In the first cycle (December 2022), 500+ companies disclosed a mean gap of 12.6% and a median of 8.37%, creating Ireland's first legally binding pay-equity evidence base.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-21
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) — accessed 2026-06-21
Irish Statute Book — Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 — accessed 2026-06-21
PwC Ireland — Gender Pay Gap Reporting Analysis 2023 — accessed 2026-06-21
KPMG Law Ireland — Gender Pay Gap Reporting — accessed 2026-06-21

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 96/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 4% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

Modelled on the UK's 2017 mandatory reporting framework and closely studied by other smaller EU member states considering similar legislation; the phased threshold design (250→150→50 employees) is a widely replicable model.

Impact on gender equality1/1

First reporting cycle (December 2022) created Ireland's first legally binding national pay gap evidence base: mean gap 12.6%, median 8.37%, bonus gap 38.5% — structural inequalities quantified and made publicly accountable for the first time.

Effectiveness1/1

The Act delivered its stated objective: 500+ employers with 250+ staff published legally required reports by December 2022; threshold subsequently lowered to 150+ employees in 2024, demonstrating iterative policy effectiveness.

Efficiency1/1

Low administrative burden — companies publish on a public portal; reporting methodology standardised by government regulation; high transparency-to-resource ratio relative to effect on pay gap accountability.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

PwC Ireland independent 2023 analysis of first reporting cycle; KPMG Law Ireland annual compliance guide; academic paper in the Economic and Social Review (ESR) — multiple independent evaluations of first-year data.

Sustainability1/1

Permanent legislation with annually recurring mandatory reporting; threshold progressively lowered (250→150→planned 50 employees); embedded in Irish employment law framework; government committed to full rollout.

Achievement / evidence1/1

Over 500 companies reported by December 2022; mean gap 12.6% and median 8.37% documented; threshold lowered to 150+ employees in 2024 — phased rollout on schedule with concrete, expanding coverage.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

Structurally integrates gender pay equity analysis into annual corporate governance and public-facing accountability for all large Irish employers across all sectors, public and private.

Curator validation1/1

Irish Statute Book (official legal text), PwC Ireland analysis (Big Four audit firm), KPMG Law Ireland — all credible, independent, and publicly verifiable sources on multiple domains.

Cite this

Evidoria. Ireland's Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021. Persistent ID: 3f8b0ed7-07ec-4a98-b81f-2523eeda8e07.

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