Hon Louise Upston
Acting Minister for Women

13 June 2024

The coalition Government is taking action to reduce the gender pay gap in New Zealand through the development of a voluntary calculation tool.

“Gender pay gaps have impacted women for decades, which is why we need to continue to drive change in New Zealand,” Acting Minister for Women Louise Upston says.

“New Zealand’s gender pay gap sits at 8.6 per cent and has remained persistent at around 9 per cent since 2018. Action is needed to address the systemic barriers faced by women that contribute to the gender pay gap.

“Gender pay gaps are complex, and they can be inconsistent when taking into account things like part-time workers and the inclusion of bonus and performance pay.

“The Ministry for Women will work with business leaders to agree on an easy-to-use approach to voluntary gender pay gap reporting that will see all businesses have access to the same measurement components to calculate their pay gaps.

“Partnering with the business community will allow us to build on work they have already done on calculating gender pay gaps. Having a clear and consistent method for doing this is an important step in making it easier for organisations to measure, understand, share, and take action to close their gender pay gaps.”

Champions for Change Co-Chair and CEO of ANZ, Antonia Watson, welcomed the Government’s announcement.

“This is a positive step forward and we have been pleased to support the Ministry's work to date. Measurement and reporting our own gender pay gaps has been an important part of the Champions' progress and we certainly support the initiative to make this more accessible for businesses across Aotearoa."

Louise Upston thanked Global Women and Champions for Change for the work they have already done on scoping a calculation tool, and for supporting the Government’s further development of this framework.

Notes:

• Champions for Change, a strategy of Global Women, is a collective of over 80 of New Zealand’s CEOs and Chairs, with the aim of accelerating inclusive and diverse leadership in their combined workforce of 170,000 people.
• Champions for Change organisations are already reporting their gender pay gaps and the group has provided early input on an initial approach for the reporting tool and framework, in collaboration with the Ministry for Women.
• It is anticipated the Champions for Change and Global Women will provide ongoing input and feedback over the coming months.

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