A Practical Toolkit Every Business Should Know About
WOBA Business Insights • Adria region focus
EU Pay Transparency Directive (2023/970) is now in force — and it matters for Western Balkans businesses too.
INTRODUCTION
Why this matters for businesses in the Western Balkans, right now
If you run or manage a business in the Western Balkans, you may assume that EU legislation is not of outmost importance. We would respectfully push back on that assumption. Gender equality standards are not something to be put on the waiting list. They are being written into trade relationships, investor expectations, procurement criteria, and EU-funded programmes. The businesses that understand this and act accordingly will have a significant advantage over those that wait.
For that reason we are focusing on a specific, practical tool that the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has recently released: a free, step-by-step toolkit for gender-neutral job evaluation and classification. It is designed to help organisations of any size assess whether their jobs, and by extension their pay structures, are based on objective criteria, or whether hidden gender bias has been quietly shaping who gets paid what.
The stakes are not abstract. The gender employment gap in Western Balkan countries stands at 17.1%, nearly double the EU average. That gap does not exist by accident. It is built, in part, through the way organisations value work. A toolkit that helps dismantle that bias is not an administrative exercise. It is a strategic opportunity.
Why WOBA is raising this topic
Our mission is to break down barriers to boardroom entry for women and accelerate their path to senior leadership. Pay equity sits at the foundation of that mission. You cannot build a pipeline of women into leadership if the structures beneath them systematically undervalue their work at every earlier stage. Addressing pay bias is not separate from the boardroom agenda; it is inseparable from it. We are committed to bringing you tools and knowledge that are immediately actionable, not just aspirational.
THE TOOLKIT
What is the EIGE gender-neutral job evaluation toolkit, and what does it actually do?
The toolkit provides a structured method for comparing every role in your organisation based on what the job actually demands: not who has historically done it, what it has historically been paid, or what its title implies. It is the updated version of the EU guidelines on gender-neutral job evaluation, now made more accessible and practical than ever before.
At its core, the toolkit asks organisations to evaluate every job against four objective criteria:
• Skills
• Responsibility
• Effort
• Working Conditions
By evaluating every role through this lens, consistently, transparently, and without reference to the gender of whoever holds it, organisations can see where their pay structure genuinely reflects value and where it has drifted into bias. The result is a foundation for a pay structure that can be explained, defended, and trusted.
WHY IT IS PRACTICAL
This is not a framework. It is a working tool.
Many gender equality resources are strong on principles and light on implementation. This toolkit is different. Here is what makes it immediately usable:
• Three distinct pathways based on organisation size
Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, the toolkit offers separate methods for micro-organisations, small and medium organisations, and large organisations. The method scales accordingly, from a simple graduated comparison for a small team to a full point-factor scoring system for large employers.
• Ready-to-use Excel worksheets and templates
Every pathway comes with downloadable Excel tools pre-built for scoring, comparison, and tracking. You do not need to design your own evaluation framework; the structure is already there. HR teams can begin working in the templates immediately after reading the guidance.
• Job questionnaires and interview guides
The toolkit includes standardised questionnaires for gathering job information directly from role holders and managers, as well as interview guides for when a written questionnaire is not sufficient. This ensures consistency across roles and removes the guesswork from the information-gathering phase.
• Built-in gender bias checks at every stage
Rather than treating bias detection as a final audit, the toolkit embeds gender bias checks throughout the process: when choosing evaluation criteria, when gathering job information, when scoring roles, and when reviewing the resulting pay structure. It even includes an interactive module for teams to practise identifying where assumptions creep in.
• A factor and subfactor plan you can adapt
The four core factors are broken down into specific subfactors that organisations can select and weight according to their context. This means the evaluation reflects what is genuinely relevant in your industry and workplace, not a generic external standard that does not fit your reality.
• Guidance for trade unions and workers, not just HR
The toolkit includes dedicated sections for workers’ representatives and trade unions, with model clauses for collective agreements and a checklist for assessing whether an existing evaluation system is genuinely gender-neutral. This makes it a tool for the whole organisation, not just management.
• A follow-up and monitoring framework built in
Implementation does not end with the initial evaluation. The toolkit includes a structured follow-up phase covering how to adjust job titles and descriptions, how to track progress over time, and how to plan next steps, so the process becomes ongoing practice rather than a one-off exercise.
Pathway overview
• Micro-organisations: graduated factor comparison — quick and practical
• Small and medium organisations (10–249): pair comparison method — structured and scalable
• Large organisations (250+): point-factor method — comprehensive and auditable
The full toolkit is available free at: eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/toolkits/gender-neutral-job-evaluation
REGIONAL CONTEXT
Why this matters for the Western Balkans, even outside the EU
Many businesses in the region operate under the assumption that EU legislation does not apply to them. That assumption is increasingly costly and strategically wrong.
- The structural gap is larger here than in the EU
The gender employment gap in Western Balkan countries stands at 17.1%, nearly double the EU average. Organisations that undervalue roles done by women make it harder for women to advance and reach leadership. The toolkit addresses one of the root causes of that cycle. - EU accession is an active process, not a future event
Gender equality is formally embedded in EU accession criteria and monitored through annual European Commission progress reports. At the EU-Western Balkans Summit in December 2025, leaders listed gender equality alongside democracy and rule of law as non-negotiable. EIGE has launched a four-year programme (2025 to 2029) to build alignment capacity across the region. - Laws exist, but implementation is the gap
Almost all Western Balkans countries have legislative frameworks guaranteeing equal pay. Having the law on paper and having a pay structure that can actually demonstrate compliance are two very different things. - International partners and investors increasingly require it
EU-funded projects, multinational partners, and international financial institutions operating in the region increasingly include gender equality requirements in procurement, due diligence, and ESG reporting. A documented pay structure built on gender-neutral job evaluation satisfies those requirements. - The economic case is clear
EIGE research shows that closing gender leadership gaps could raise European GDP by 6.1 to 9.6 per cent by 2050, equivalent to roughly € 3 trillion. The Western Balkans, already facing brain drain and talent shortages, have the most to gain from creating workplaces where skilled women stay, advance, and lead.
COMPLIANCE
What the EU Pay Transparency Directive requires
Directive (EU) 2023/970
Pay structures must be based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. Employees gain the right to request pay information compared to colleagues doing equal-value work. Employers must explain and justify any differences.
Key actions for employers
• Document your job evaluation criteria before any pay dispute arises
• Ensure job titles and descriptions are gender-neutral and bias-free
• Review complementary pay (bonuses, allowances) for gender-based patterns
• Involve workers’ representatives in the evaluation process
• Track and monitor progress annually
• Western Balkans: Begin aligning now as part of your EU accession readiness strategy
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
We are here to help. Let us know where you are starting from.
Pay equity is one of those topics that most organisations acknowledge in principle and struggle with in practice. Whether you are just beginning to think about job evaluation, somewhere in the middle of the process, or trying to make sense of what the results mean for your organisation, WOBA membership gives you direct access to the expertise, network, and resources to move forward with confidence.
As a WOBA member, you join a community of businesses and leaders across the Adria region who are working through exactly these challenges together. We can help you understand where to start, how to build internal support, and how to turn the results of a job evaluation into meaningful change.
If you have already been through this process and want to share what you learned, we would love to hear from you. Your experience is valuable to the whole community and we may feature your perspective in a future edition.
Get in touch to learn more about WOBA membership: info@wobadria.org
ABOUT WOBA
Accelerating gender equality in the Adria region, from the boardroom to the pay slip
Women on Boards Adria (WOBA) is a regional non-profit working with businesses, governments, and international institutions to increase gender diversity at Board and C-Suite level. We believe that talent and ambition are equally distributed, and that it is the structures around people, not the people themselves, that need to change.
• Board Readiness Programme: practical training for women advancing to Board and C-Suite roles
• Leadership Network: a regional pool of talented women and mentors
• Policy Advocacy: research and expertise to strengthen legal frameworks in the region
• Talent Development: training and mentoring for professionals of all genders
• EU Alignment Support: helping organisations align with EU gender equality standards ahead of accession
