New Law Serves to Ensure More Comprehensive Gender Equality in Wages

May 7, 2026 16:30 | View count 642

The Law “On Amendments to the Labour Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan ‘On Guarantees of Gender (Men and Women) Equality’”, approved by President Ilham Aliyev, is aimed at ensuring more comprehensive gender equality in the field of wages in the country.

Under the new Law, amendments were made to Articles 12 and 154 of the Labour Code. These amendments stipulate:

that employers are obliged to pay equal wages to employees performing the same or different work of equal value regardless of gender,
that the equal value of work is determined by the employer, taking into account working conditions, the nature of labour functions, and tariff-qualification characteristics envisaged in the Unified Tariff-Qualification Reference Books currently in force.

At the same time, corresponding amendments are being made to the Law “On Guarantees of Gender (Men and Women) Equality” in line with these changes to the Labour Code.

These amendments are another step towards improving approaches related to gender equality in labour legislation based on progressive international practice and the standards of the International Labour Organization.

Ensuring equal pay for work of equal value regardless of gender is also included among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-8) adopted by the relevant resolution of the UN General Assembly.

It should be noted that reforms carried out in Azerbaijan in recent years regarding women’s labour were presented as an example during the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. In addition, last year Azerbaijan was accepted as a member of the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), led by the International Labour Organization, UN Women, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.