The companies proclaimed as leaders on the long road to reducing the pay gap include A1 Croatia, Addiko Croatia, Atlantic Group, Coca-Cola HBC Croatia, Fresenius Kabi, HEINEKEN Croatia, Croatian Telecom, JGL, JT International Zagreb, Kaufland Croatia, Nexe, NOVA TV, Podravka d.d., Porsche Croatia, Zagrebačka banka, and Sandoz.

Equal Pay Champion is the first certificate in Croatia guided by the principle of "equal pay for equal work." The project was initiated by SELECTIO Group with the goal of recognizing employers determined to achieve equality, fairness, and equity in their organization. This certificate represents a key step in building transparent pay systems across workplaces in Croatia.

The certification process begins with a review of activities aimed at reducing the pay gap, after which the certification team, composed of experienced consultants from SELECTIO Group, suggests steps that need to be taken for the organization to comply with new EU directives. The emphasis is on actively promoting an inclusive organizational culture that provides equal opportunities for all.

Certification is carried out annually. First, action plans for reducing the pay gap are evaluated, and then the progress achieved is assessed.

The current pay gap between men and women in Croatia stands at 11.2%, with the most significant hourly pay gap in the EU found in managerial positions, where women earn 23% less than their male colleagues. Moreover, the SELECTIO women's index, which has been measuring the proportion of women in corporate boards for 20 years, stands at 19.4% in 2024, marking a decrease from 22.2% in the same period in 2023. Interestingly, there is no state organization in Croatia that has women on its board.

"According to recent studies, Croatia can increase its GDP by four billion euros annually by 2030 through greater participation of women in leadership positions. Of course, creating equal opportunities for all and developing a system with equally valued jobs is not simple and requires long-term investment of resources. Measures are needed that will encourage and support women to engage in management and targeted investment and focus to ensure organizations guarantee equal pay for equal work. What gives us hope are the positive examples we can see in the companies to which we presented the first Equal Pay Champion certificates today, which, through their efforts to reduce the pay gap, prove that they are several steps ahead of the market," stated Lara Šubić Šuša, head of the Equal Pay Champion project from SELECTIO Group.