Brussels NGO worker fired after challenging gender pay gap

Păduraru, a Romanian national, spent over €60,000 fighting her dismissal in a labor tribunal. Her former employer successfully characterized her as unreliable, leveraging their exclusive control over pay structures and internal guidelines to counter her claims. Because the initial discussions regarding salary discrepancies were never recorded, she found herself without the documentation required to prove discrimination in court. She submitted an appeal in September 2026, challenging the systemic opacity that protects organizations from accountability.

While the EU Pay Transparency Directive aims to force companies with over 100 employees to report gender pay gaps, the legislation offers little protection for those in smaller workplaces. Even with the directive, implementation remains uneven; Belgium has applied the rules to public offices but has yet to fully integrate them into the private sector. This gap is significant, as private sector income disparities in Belgium reach 6.1 percent, compared to a 0.7 percent average across all sectors. As the EU pushes for reform, women in small, unregulated NGOs remain vulnerable, often lacking the HR infrastructure or legal transparency necessary to contest unfair compensation.