A figure, enshrined in law since 2019, could have reshaped the balance of power in large French companies: the equity ratio between the remuneration of executives and that of employees. However, most listed groups rush to do the bare minimum, aligning bland data while avoiding any explanation regarding bonuses, incentives, or other perks reserved for the upper echelons.
Some players, however, are tackling the issue head-on. They publish anonymized salary grids and engage in dialogue with teams about pay disparities. Unions, on their part, are pounding the table, denouncing persistent opacity, while some shareholders demand more clarity to assess the quality of governance.
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What is the state of pay transparency in large French companies?
Pay transparency is gradually establishing itself as a new norm in large French companies, caught between social demands and European directives. Directive 2023/970 has reshuffled the cards: it is now impossible to ignore the publication of pay gaps between women and men, the precise structure of salary grids, or the overall remuneration policy. On paper, the movement is underway. But in reality: the path remains winding.
Many groups, while highlighting pay equality in their communications, remain stingy with details. The actual disparities, how pay transparency materializes in everyday life: all of this gets lost in management reports that stretch over dozens of pages. Union representatives demand accessible analyses capable of pointing out persistent inequalities between genders. The European transparency directive calls for more courage, but habits are hard to break.
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Some French companies choose to lead the way. They make certain equity ratios public and reveal the variable portion allocated to executives. The salary of the EDF CEO: regularly published, it fuels the debate and provides a clearer view of governance. But the majority of CAC 40 companies stick to the letter of the law, carefully avoiding providing a comprehensive view of salary grids.
Employees, for their part, are not letting the matter drop. Shareholders, on their side, closely monitor these indicators. The gender pay gap is under constant scrutiny. With the pay transparency directive, the sector could accelerate its transformation. Yet, between legislation, internal resistance, and corporate culture, the march toward real pay equality and total transparency promises to be long and fraught with obstacles.
Toward an open salary culture: what are the implications for employees and employers?
The emergence of pay transparency is not trivial: it redraws the contours of the relationship between employers and their teams. When a company openly displays the details of remunerations and grants access to its salary grids, trust within teams evolves. Employees, better informed, finally have tools to position their own salary in relation to that of their peers. This new clarity imposes an unprecedented level of demand on management in defining their salary policy.
This transparency comes with new levers for employees, who can rely on concrete data to defend their interests. Here’s what the publication of pay gaps and the circulation of precise information allows:
- to claim pay equality between women and men,
- to obtain better recognition of professional involvement,
- to request a clearer evaluation of career trajectories.
On a daily basis, this dynamic impacts the workplace atmosphere. Tensions, when they exist, quickly rise to the attention of employee representative bodies, such as the CSE or unions, who rely on these figures to support their claims.
For employers, the employer brand is no longer just a question of image: it is built on the consistency of salary practices. Candidates, especially the most sought-after, place increasing importance on pay transparency right from the recruitment phase. The ability to retain the best profiles now hinges on clear commitments to professional equality and human resource management. Publication obligations, HR strategy, internal communication: everything converges toward a salary that has become a barometer of collective trust.
It remains to be seen how long companies can continue to take small steps. Because one thing is certain: the issue of pay transparency will not disappear. It requires, for those who wish to remain credible, to lay all their cards on the table. The movement has begun: it is just waiting for the laggards to finally lift the veil.