customer asks about wage difference between men and women, how do I fill that in

Wage gap is the unweighted gap between average gross hourly wage

The requested wage gap — the "gender pay gap" — is usually the difference between the average gross hourly wage of men and women, expressed as a percentage of male wages. This is an unweighted figure: it does not take into account job function, age or contract hours. A gap of 12% therefore does not mean that a woman earns 12% less for equal work; it means that the average across the entire organization works out that way, and this can also be because men and women are unequally distributed across functions or levels. You can explain this nuance in a note if the portal provides space for it.

If you have not calculated this figure, then "no" or "not known" is the honest answer — not something in between. Many SMEs do not keep track of this figure separately, especially if payroll administration is outsourced. If you do calculate it occasionally, for example for a collective agreement report, then that figure is your evidence. If you don't have it, then the male-female distribution within your workforce is often an easier question to answer: see what your customer specifically means by the male-female distribution in your workforce. If the question about wage gap comes together with broader diversity questions, it helps to address them as one block: see how you address diversity questions in the questionnaire.

Where this section is in the VSME-Basic Module

The VSME-Basic Module from EFRAG, the voluntary standard for non-listed SME enterprises, includes the gender pay gap as an indicator within the section on working conditions and diversity. The standard does not prescribe a calculation method mandatory for your enterprise, but the common definition — the unweighted difference in average gross hourly wage — is the definition used in the explanation of this indicator. Directive (EU) 2022/2464 (CSRD) is the European directive that makes reporting on this type of social indicators mandatory for larger enterprises; for the SME that is asked for these figures through a customer, the VSME-Basic Module is the direct source of the question itself.