Survey shows gender pay gap at new low

  • Hekia Parata
Women's Affairs

The Minister of Women’s Affairs, Hekia Parata, is delighted with the results of a survey out today which show the gender pay gap has reached an all time low.

The New Zealand Income Survey shows that the gender pay gap has decreased from 10.6 per cent to 9.6 per cent in the last financial year.

“I am delighted that the pay gap is tracking in the right direction,’’ Ms Parata says.

"The sound economic management that our Government has shown over the past three years, with a stable economy focused on growth, provides the conditions for sustainable improvement of the kind that this decline in the gender pay gap reflects.

“Our Government has worked hard to better understand the causes of the gender pay gap.

“We have worked with the accounting sector to better understand how flexible work practices are good for business; we have set up trade networks in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to help women get into male-dominated trades; and we have helped the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand develop a business plan to encourage more women into engineering.

“We have also launched 'my board strengths', a unique online self-assessment tool to help women who want to serve on boards.

“We are starting to see change. The NZX is proposing new rules that will require all publicly listed companies to declare how many women they have in senior roles, and the New Zealand Institute of Directors has established a new mentoring scheme which aims to help women develop connections and skills that will allow them to achieve board positions.’’

But Ms Parata says to achieve our full potential we need to further utilise women’s skills.

“A report from, investment bank, Goldman Sachs says we could boost our GDP by a further 10 per cent by increasing women’s participation in the economy.

“Women today are better educated than their grandmothers and mothers. They are also graduating from university with more degrees than men. Despite this, they are still likely to be paid less and to progress more slowly in the workforce than men with similar skills.”

Ms Parata says compared to other nations New Zealand is doing well.

“We are making progress but there is always more that can be done. Our Government is committed to growth and we recognise the contribution that women can make to that.”

Background info:

The New Zealand Income Survey (NZIS)
The Government uses the New Zealand Income Survey (NZIS), which is run once a year (during the June quarter) as a supplement to the Household Labour Force Survey. The Government uses the New Zealand Income Survey to calculate the gender pay gap because it measures worker's actual earnings while the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) measures changes in the cost to employers. The QES average can go up or down on the basis of hours worked so is subject to greater fluctuation without salaries and wages actually changing. The New Zealand Income Survey is also the only regular survey to interview workers on their actual earnings.This means changes in men's and women's earnings can be directly related to changes in individuals' wages and salaries - unlike the QES, which uses employer data and is subject to more fluctuation because it is not seasonally adjusted.

The New Zealand Gender Pay Gap
In the last three years the gender pay gap has trended down for the first time in around a decade. It is now 9.6 per cent (as at the June quarter), down from 10.6 per cent in 2010 and 11.3 per cent in 2009.