Govt pressed to introduce pay gap reporting before end of term

The New Zealand government is facing pressure to introduce a pay gap reporting system for workplaces before the end of their office term.

Mind the Gap NZ co-founder and YWCA CEO Dellwyn Stuart made the call as she slammed pay gaps as a "source of embarrassment" for the country.

"We are a country that values fairness and we are not living up to this. We must do better and want to see legislation introduced by the end of this government term," Stuart said in a media release.

Widespread support for pay gap reporting

The statement came amid widespread support from Kiwis on pay gap reporting policies.

Research from the Human Rights Commission revealed 63% of Kiwis would support pay transparency policies to address pay gap issues. BusinessNZ also agreed that pay gap reporting is "needed as a modern business practice and legislation is required."

Several major organisations in New Zealand have already committed to publishing their pay gap through Mind the Gap NZ's Pay Gap Registry.

Pay gap reporting is also already happening for the public service sector, where gender pay gap fell to 7.7% and Māori pay gap declined to 6.5% in 2022, according to the Public Service 2022 Workforce data.

"This is not new territory - both internationally, in our own Public Service and in more than 100 of our businesses - pay gap reporting is in practice," Stuart said. "The policy work and tailoring to the New Zealand environment has been done - so why is it taking so long? Why are we still waiting?"

Government actions around equal pay

The New Zealand government, during the 50th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act's passing in October, reiterated its commitment to explore "reducing the gender pay gap."

It announced that the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW) will become the national advisory group on pay transparency in New Zealand.

"The council's role will be expanded to consider both gender and ethnicity in relation to pay transparency and will provide advice on what a pay transparency system that is fit-for-purpose for New Zealand could look like," said Associate Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Priyanca Radhakrishnan in a media release.

Since making this commitment, however, Mind the Gap NZ said it has yet to receive an announcement from the government.

"In a time of growing material hardship for many Kiwis, our government has yet to make a public commitment to legislating pay gap reporting," Stuart said. "While the government has been working on this, Kiwis have been living the reality of high inflation, with women, Māori, and ethnicity groups bearing the double impact of discriminatory pay gaps."

Across the world, measures to close pay gaps have been taken by various countries.

The EU Parliament is now requiring companies with more than 250 employees to annually report their pay gap and their action plans to resolve it. Australia will also begin mandating organisations with over 100 staff to publish pay gap data.