Equal pay is a basic condition for a fair, good quality, productive working life. The Government and the central labour market organisations have taken on a commitment to promote equal pay. The aim is to narrow the gender-based pay gap to 15 per cent by 2015. The means taken to achieve this goal include: contract policy, decreasing of the gender-based segregation of occupations, development of pay systems and support for women's career development.

The Equal Pay Programme addresses a serious problem in Finnish working life. On average, women's pay based on regular working hours is about 18% less than men's  (Statistics Finland, Index of Wage and Salary Earnings 2010).