ECOSOC SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS

It took a few months and many examinations before we were granted ECOSOC Special Consultative Status - but it was worth it! Since the fall of 2021, we have been allowed to officially contribute our fair pay expertise as an international NGO at the global level. This means we can advise the United Nations in statements and use our expertise to influence political decisions.

Our goal is fair pay for all employees worldwide. Since the founding of the FPI, we have therefore been committed to fair pay at the international level. We were one of the first members of the Equal Pay International Coalition, which was initiated by the International Labor Organization (ILO), UN Women and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and hosted the first meeting of the global alliance at the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs in Berlin with over a hundred participants from all over the world. For years, we have participated in and hosted side events at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York each year. We have been to the World Economic Summit in Davos and are guests at the Reyjkjavík Global Forum Women Leaders every fall. From the beginning, we have been monitoring international legislation and have been traveling around the world for several years in our Fair Pay Around the World series on some 80 transparency laws. For the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth, we wrote an expert report on the transferability of Iceland's equal pay laws, and compared and evaluated national strategies in a study for the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS).

Last but not least, we developed the UNIVERSAL FAIR PAY CHECK®, an international certification for companies around the world that has been recognized as a guarantee mark.

Equal opportunities as a prerequisite for sustainability

It is of great concern to us to point out the importance of fair pay for sustainability. At the latest since UN Women impressively demonstrated in 2018 that gender equality is the most important cross-cutting issue of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, equality and fair pay belong firmly on the international agenda. "Equal pay for work of equal value" is Goal 8.5 - and we think it's probably no coincidence that 8.5 is exactly the middle of 17:Economic independence is the prerequisite for a self-determined life, for equality, equal opportunities, education - and ultimately also for climate protection

We were awarded UN consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in the fall of 2021. The following February, we published our first statement for the United Nations in time for the 2022 Commission on Women's Rights. We look forward to continuing to be part of the global conversation as an NGO!