how do I determine the remuneration difference between men and women

Pay gap is the average gross hourly wage of men versus women

The pay gap — also known as the "gender pay gap" — is calculated as the difference between the average gross hourly wage of male and female employees, expressed as a percentage of the average hourly wage of men. VSME requests this percentage as part of the basic module, together with other personnel data. You therefore need wage data by gender, converted to an hourly rate, so that part-time and full-time employees are comparable.

What your client usually wants to see is one figure, plus a brief explanation of how you calculated it. If you don't have that wage data centrally available — for example because payroll administration is outsourced — you can indicate that instead of making up a percentage. This topic is often linked to the male-female distribution within the workforce: a client who asks about the pay gap usually also asks about that distribution, and you share both questions in Supplia under the same chain file so you don't have to look them up again every time. If you are unsure how to further explain this figure in a broader diversity narrative, see how you address questions about diversity policy in the questionnaire.

Where this is located: the basic module of VSME

The basic module of EFRAG VSME mentions the pay gap between men and women as one of the social indicators that a non-listed SME can report. Directive (EU) 2022/2464, the CSRD, is the European directive that has launched the reporting chain: larger companies falling under the CSRD often ask for these types of indicators from their own suppliers, and VSME is the voluntary, simplified standard for SMEs for this purpose. There is no obligation under VSME itself to report this figure; it is up to you and your client whether this is included.