How to Calculate the Professional Equality Index in 2026? (Step-by-step guide)

Regulatory Reminder: The Obligation to Publish

All companies with at least 50 employees must calculate and publish their Professional Equality Index.

This mandatory declaration must be made every year before March 1st.

It is a score out of 100 points, measured over the reference period of the previous 12 months, aimed at eliminating the pay gap between women and men.

An overall score below 75/100 formally obliges the company to define corrective measures and annual progress objectives.

Explanation of the 5 Indicators of the Pénicaud Index

The Index is based on the analysis of specific criteria, which differ slightly depending on whether your company has more or less than 250 employees. Here are the 5 main indicators (for companies with > 250 employees):

1. The gender pay gap (40 points): Calculated by age group and socio-professional category (or classification level).
2. The gap in the distribution of individual salary raises (20 points): Who received a raise? (excluding promotions).
3. The gap in the distribution of promotions (15 points): Who changed jobs/status?
4. Increases upon return from maternity leave (15 points): 100% of employees returning from maternity leave must receive a raise if increases occurred during their absence.
5. Parity among the 10 highest compensations (10 points): How many women are in the top 10 salaries?

Note: For companies with 50 to 250 employees, indicators 2 and 3 are merged (35 points).

Detailed Calculation Methodology

Obtaining the final score requires great rigor in processing administrative and HR data.

Indeed, the main difficulty often lies in the constitution of comparable "worker groups".

1. Defining the "Index" workforce

Certain contract categories (apprentices, professionalization contracts, long-term expatriates) must first be excluded from your validated workforce.

2. The Socio-Professional Category (SPC) method

Groups are traditionally formed by broad families: Workers, Employees, Technicians/Supervisors, and Executives.

They are then divided by 4 essential age groups: under 30, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, and 50 and over.

Important: Groups with fewer than 3 men or 3 women are not counted.

3. The coefficient or hierarchical level

More precise (and often recommended), the calculation can be done by Collective Agreement classification if it allows for a more accurate result on the concept of "work of equal value".

Most common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

• The part-time bias: Failing to recalculate part-time compensation into "Full-Time Equivalents" (FTE) will completely distort the pay gap indicator.
• Forgetting variable bonuses: The salary retained for the Index must include the base salary but also individual bonuses. (However, meal allowances, seniority bonuses, or overtime are excluded).
• Wrong reference period: You must strictly align with 12 consecutive months (often the past calendar year).

Sanctions: The risks of an incorrect declaration

The Labor Inspectorate pays particular attention to 3 criteria: non-declaration, a score below 75/100, and inaction.

The vital importance of data structuring in 2026

With the arrival of the new European Directive, calculating the Equality Index on Excel with manual payroll exports has become obsolete, even dangerous.

There is an absolute necessity to precisely filter hundreds or thousands of payslips.

Numerous anomalies must also be corrected, such as the pro-rata of profit-sharing upon return from maternity leave or the actual FTE of part-timers.

Knowing how to justify each line-by-line gap to the administration today requires being equipped with specialized software.

Equality Index Simulator: Why automate?

Connecting your raw data directly (your DSN or HRIS/payroll export) to a compliance engine allows you to:

• Ensure Zero-Error: No more bad Excel formulas on FTEs.
• Simulate the future: Test what budget would be necessary next year to go from 72/100 to 85/100.
• Obtain a final report: Downloadable in PDF (for the CSE) or transferable to the Ministry of Labor in one click.

Cervilo was designed precisely to solve this structural problem. Our Index calculation engine (compliant with French legal methodology) instantly cross-references your data and generates the optimal budgetary correction plan with our AI.