Two years after Brazil’s Pay Equity Law (No. 14,611/2023) came into effect, its impact is becoming visible. Over 54,000 companies with 100 or more employees are now subject to biannual salary reporting, covering more than 19 million employment relationships. While progress is underway, the average pay gap remains significant, with women earning over 20% less than men on average, and even wider disparities at the intersection of gender and race. Law No. 14,611/2023 applies to all private sector organizations with 100 or more employees and outlines clear compliance requirements focused on transparency, action planning, and accountability. It signals the country’s sustained commitment to closing the gender pay gap through data, oversight, and structural reform.
Key Provisions of Brazil’s Pay Equity Law
- Biannual salary transparency reports: Organizations must submit anonymized salary data every March and September. Reports must indicate pay differences between men and women employees, the pay criteria used, and the proportion of women in leadership. They must also include statistical breakdowns by race, ethnicity, nationality, and age, in accordance with data protection laws. These reports are generated by the Ministry of Labor and Employment and published on its Labor Statistics Platform. Employers are also required to make the data publicly accessible, for example, on their website or social media, to ensure transparency and accountability.
- Action plans for unjustified pay gaps: If a report reveals unjustified gender pay disparities, the organization must develop and implement a corrective action plan within 90 days. The plan must include concrete measures, defined targets, deadlines for closing the gap, and mechanisms to review progress. These provisions ensure that transparency is paired with action.
- Enforcement and penalties: The law includes meaningful enforcement mechanisms. Employers who fail to comply face fines of up to 10 times the monthly salary owed in cases of wage discrimination, alongside administrative sanctions. It also promotes structural fairness through programs designed to support women’s advancement and reduce workplace barriers, such as those related to caregiving responsibilities. As part of its implementation strategy, the government published a Collective Bargaining Guide (2025) to encourage employers and worker representatives to negotiate pay equity measures directly. This emphasis on social dialogue aims to embed equal pay commitments into collective agreements, fostering practical solutions.
Brazil’s Gender Pay Gap in Context
Despite legislative advances, Brazil continues to experience wide gender gaps in the labour market. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, women in Brazil have a labour force participation rate of just 53.5%, compared to 73.6% for men. Data from the 4th Salary Transparency Report, released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, reveal that the average salary for women was R$3,908, compared to R$4,958 for men, a difference of 21%.
Another revealing indicator places Brazil 118th globally in perceived wage equality for similar work. This is a measure based on the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey, which gathers insights from over 11,000 business leaders worldwide. This highlights both the persistence of inequality and the importance of employer-led action.
The intersection of gender and race deepens the challenge. Research from Oxfam Brazil estimates that if current trends continue, women overall will not achieve pay parity until 2047, and Black Brazilians will not reach income parity with white Brazilians until 2089. These projections reflect structural inequalities that require sustained, data-driven efforts to address.
EDGE Certification Aligns with Brazil’s Legal Requirements
While Brazil’s pay equity law sets a strong baseline, EDGE Certification supports organizations to both meet requirements and go further, offering a structured, measurable, and independently verified approach to workplace and pay equity fairness.
- Measuring the pay gap: The law calls for an “impartial evaluation” of salaries between men and women. The EDGE pay equity analysis methodology applies a statistically rigorous analysis of the unexplained gender pay gap using an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model. EDGE identifies a 5% or greater unexplained gap between men and women in equivalent roles as a threshold for remedial action, a standard that reflects emerging global best practice.
- Action planning and progress: Developing and executing action plans is central to both Brazil’s law and the EDGE Certification process. EDGE Certification focuses on the systems and structures that drive sustainable workplace fairness. The EDGE Standards examine how organizations support equitable career advancement through the implementation and impact of policies and practices in areas including equal pay for equivalent work, making it a robust and results-driven tool for change.
- Addressing intersectional fairness with EDGEplus: Brazil’s law calls for salary reporting disaggregated by race and other demographics. EDGEplus Certification allows organizations to assess unexplained pay gaps at the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity.
Compliance and Beyond
Brazil’s pay equity law has made transparency and remediation non-negotiable. EDGE Certification provides a structured, globally recognized framework to embed fairness into the DNA of an organization. It enables companies to:
- Conduct rigorous pay equity analysis
- Build actionable, measurable fairness strategies
- Benchmark against global peers
- Demonstrate impact through independent third-party verification
As highlighted by the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), lasting progress depends on technical correction, cultural transformation, and shared accountability across all levels of an organization. EDGE and EDGEplus Certifications reflect these same principles by providing the structure for evidence-based analysis, the tools for driving organizational change, and the independent verification that strengthens accountability. For multinational and Brazilian organizations alike, EDGE Certification offers a rigorous and credible path to meet legal requirements and lead measurable progress toward workplace fairness.
