MORE WOMEN SENIOR LEADERS IN STATE SECTOR, WHILE CE PAY REMAINS IN CHECK

The number of women in senior leadership roles in the State sector has grown from 16% to 44.2% since 2008, and 38% of current or acting Chief Executives in the Public Service are women - the highest proportion ever - while the total spend on employing Public Service chief executives has remained similar since 2008/2009 according to two State sector workforce reports released by the State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie today.

The reports, the 2014/15 Report on Remuneration of Public Service and State Sector Chief Executives, and the 2015 Human Resource Capability Survey, provide a wide range of information and let New Zealanders take a closer look at the workforce their taxes pay for to provide essential public services, says Mr Rennie.

“Overall, increases in Public Service and Crown entity chief executives’ remuneration are within the guidelines I set and therefore are in line with movements in the broader State sector,” he said.

The total amount spent on remuneration for Public Service chief executives employed by the Commissioner has been largely constant over recent years, reflecting continuing control of remuneration levels. Annual expenditure on Public Service chief executive remuneration has been similar since 2008/2009.

The 2014/15 Report on Remuneration of State sector Chief Executives sets out the remuneration received by chief executives between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2015.

“How much we pay Chief Executives requires a careful balance between ensuring we can attract and retain highly qualified and skilled leaders while being prudent and restrained when spending public money.” Mr Rennie described many of the roles as large and complex with significant levels of responsibility for critical public services.

The proportion of Asian, Maori and Pacific senior leaders in the sector in the last five years shows an upward trend, while the unadjusted gender pay gap has remained flat over the past five years but is down from 16.1% ten years ago to 14%. (When the pay gap calculations are adjusted for age, seniority and occupation the gender pay gap is 5.3%.)

“It is very satisfying to see more women, Maori, Pacific and Asian senior leaders – it’s a very promising trend and I believe a direct result of our focus on diversity and tactical development of leaders. We still have work to do and this reporting helps us see where what we are doing is working really well and where we need to focus.”

Mr Rennie said that strong leadership at every level in the State Sector, that reflects the diversity of the population the sector serves, will transform the experiences of New Zealanders.

The 2014/15 Report on Remuneration of Public Service and State sector Chief Executives is available on the SSC website https://www.ssc.govt.nz/rem-senior-state-sector-staff-to-30june15

The 2015 HRC is available on the SSC website http://www.ssc.govt.nz/human-resource-capability-new-zealand-state-services-2015

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