As part of its International Women’s Day 2026 initiatives, Euronext hosted events across its locations under the theme “Balancing the scales”. The discussions brought together policymakers, business leaders and experts to reflect on fairness, transparency and inclusion in professional environments.
In Amsterdam, one of the guest speakers was Samira Rafaela, EU Pay Transparency Directive Specialist and Executive Reward, at PwC and former Member of the European Parliament, where she served as co-architect of the EU Pay Transparency Directive. She is also a visiting fellow at Cornell University Law School, where she works on the topic of gender-responsive law making and pay equity. She shares her reflections drawn from her experience in policymaking and advisory roles in this article.
Transparency as a structural tool
For Samira Rafaela, one of the most persistent imbalances lies in access to pay information. The EU Pay Transparency Directive was designed as an instrument to foster transparency and provide employees and candidates with greater insight into salary structures.
“Knowledge is power,” she notes, highlighting that greater access to information can strengthen negotiation positions and reduce structural asymmetries, particularly where information has historically been unevenly distributed.
Imbalances are also visible in access to leadership positions. Representation at senior and board level continues to shape who participates in decision-making and how priorities are set. Without access to those levels, individuals are less likely to influence outcomes.
Addressing these gaps is challenging because, as Samira Rafaela explains, many of the underlying causes are institutional. Biases and stereotypes have become embedded in governance structures and labour market systems over time. Changing outcomes therefore requires not only new rules, but a gradual transformation of organisational and institutional frameworks.
Bridging intention and implementation
Having worked both in EU policymaking and now in global consulting, working on the topic of equal pay and reward, governance, and leadership, , Samira Rafaela has observed that the gap between intention and implementation often emerges at the operational level.
Unconscious bias, she notes, is often not deliberate but has become normalised within organisations. Raising awareness is important, but it must be accompanied by structural adjustments to processes and accountability.
She also highlights that pay transparency can be perceived as administratively complex. Reviewing pay structures may uncover inconsistencies that require corrective action. From her experience, leadership plays a decisive role in determining whether organisations are willing to address such findings constructively, even when the process is uncomfortable.
Diversity of perspective in complex decision-making
Reflecting on her experience negotiating EU legislation, Samira Rafaela emphasises the importance of intersectionality in regulatory design. Discrimination and inequality rarely stem from a single characteristic.
“You can’t understand discrimination from only one perspective,” she noted, referring to the interaction of gender with ethnicity, race, orientation and disability.
Incorporating a diversity of perspectives at the decision-making table strengthens scrutiny and improves the resilience of legislation and policy outcomes. When certain voices are absent, important dimensions of impact may remain unexamined.
Culture and leadership as enablers
Beyond regulation, organisational culture determines whether inclusion efforts are sustained over time. According to Samira Rafaela, progress “stands and falls with the leadership.”
While motivated employees can initiate change, embedding fairness and inclusion into long-term strategy requires clear commitment at senior and board level. Leadership willingness to engage with complex or sensitive topics and to defend inclusive principles when necessary shapes whether initiatives become structural.
An open culture, where difficult conversations can take place constructively, also contributes to retention and engagement across diverse talent pools.
Intergenerational responsibility and shared progress
Looking ahead, Samira Rafaela emphasises the importance of intergenerational collaboration. Each generation brings valuable experience and perspective, and progress depends on mutual respect and knowledge-sharing.
She emphasised the need to “make space” for different backgrounds, experiences and ways of thinking, and to approach inclusion as a shared responsibility.
As discussions across Euronext’s International Women’s Day events illustrated, balancing the scales is an ongoing process. Transparency, inclusive governance and sustained leadership engagement remain central to fostering professional environments where diverse talent can contribute and thrive.