Other countries have left New Zealand lagging behind when it comes to equality in wages between the genders.
A recent survey of salaries across the creative, marketing and digital industries in four APAC countries – NZ, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore – found NZ had the widest discrepancy between men and women across company size and years’ experience.
Carried out by font’s Market Pulse, it canvassed the salaries of 4350 participants and compared them based on company size, years of experience, gender and qualifications.
It found NZ men received not only larger bonuses, but they were earned 44% more than women in small businesses, 23% in medium sized businesses and 18% in large corporates.
Female graduates were able to command a slightly higher salary than male colleagues ($49,750 compared to $45,000), but men went on to surpass them by 19 per cent five years later and then by 18 per cent 10 years down the track. Women only saw pay parity at 16 to 20 years’ experience.
Font managing director and Trans-Tasman Recruitment Consulting Services Association board director, Jacqui Barratt, stated that while the findings reflected a trend for women to seek careers that off a better work-life balance around child-bearing age, it was important women started valuing their contribution and asking for more.
“Men have no issue with negotiating more and when they get a pay rise they feel it’s well-deserved, however when women get a pay rise they feel very thankful,” she stated. “I believe women are their own worst enemies – we need to be more confident in our abilities and value what we deliver.”
Other findings from the survey:
- Advertising pays men 37% more than women in large companies, and 40% more in the first year of employment.
- Men earned significantly more in small companies
- Marketing managers appeared to have enjoyed the largest salary increase since this time last year, with women jumping nine per cent to a median of $98,500, but this was still behind their male counterparts, who jumped 24% to a median salary of $111,500.
