MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday 15 February 2012

Encouraging but slow progress on gender pay gap
“While New Zealand’s current gender pay gap is 9.6 percent, down from 10.6 percent in 2010, and the second lowest in the OECD, we still have a long way to go to achieve pay equity between men and women,” said Rowena Phair, Chief Executive, Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

Speaking ahead of ‘Pay Equity - Red Bag Day’ (Thursday 16 February), a day promoted by the New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women, Ms Phair said there were some encouraging signs but progress was slow.

“There are now more women under the age of 50 with a tertiary qualification than men and this trend is continuing. As a consequence, we should have seen faster progress for women on pay equity.”

“While New Zealand has often led the world on gender equality, we may be overtaken by other countries that focus on women’s skills as a contributor to economic growth. A gender pay gap has no place in a modern economy where skills are a key driver of innovation and productivity. ”

“On current trends it will take 30 years to completely close the gender pay gap between men and women,” said Ms Phair. “At that rate, a woman who is 20 years old this year will be 50 before pay equity has been achieved.”
“The issue is multifaceted, as are the solutions.”

“Employers have a role in ensuring pay and promotions are based on merit and in supporting both men and women, where possible, to balance paid work alongside family and other responsibilities.”

“Women should ensure they are well-informed about the financial implications of their career choices. The impacts across a lifetime are considerable.”

“Careers advisors and others should help young people to be well-informed about their options. Training and education are significant investments for anyone, and pay and other benefits vary hugely between occupations. ”

“Thirty years is too long to wait to rid ourselves of this needless anachronism,” she said.

Notes on the pay gap:
The gender pay gap is the difference between what men and women earn in paid employment. It is seen as a measure of the inequality between the income or earnings of men and women. The gender pay gap is measured by comparing the median hourly earnings of men and women, using data from the New Zealand Income Survey (NZIS) from Statistics New Zealand. This measure aligns well with international measures and is the most robust for tracking the pay gap over time. ENDS

ENDS

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