Employers urged to 'be courageous' and find out their pay gaps
The New Zealand government has launched a new Gender Pay Gap Calculator to help organisations identify and address the pay gap in their workplaces.
Minister for Women Nicola Grigg said the new calculator is part of a new toolkit that's now available on the Ministry for Women's website.
"Many businesses are taking steps to improve their gender pay gaps, and so I encourage all businesses to be courageous and calculate their gaps," Grigg said in a statement.
"This is not about casting judgement on those who have wider gender pay gaps but, instead, is a useful tool that encourages organisations to look beyond the numbers."
In addition to the Gender Pay Gap Calculator, the new toolkit also has:
The calculator comes as New Zealand's gender pay gap sits at 8.2% as of June 2024, where median hourly earnings for all women are currently $32.08, lower compared to the $34.95 for all men.
But according to government data, the gap for median hourly earnings is much wider for wāhine Māori, Pacific, and Asian women:
Grigg thanked the organisations that had a hand in the development of the toolkit, including Champions for Change, a collective of over 80 CEOs and Chairs in New Zealand with the aim of accelerating inclusive and diverse leadership in the country.
"Champions for Change Co-Chair Roger Gray has said that the tool is a 'positive step forward,' and fellow Co-Chair Antonia Watson has said that measurement and reporting of gender pay gaps is an 'important part of the Champions' progress," Grigg said.
She also expressed gratitude to Spark, ANZ, the NZ Law Society, and Tonkin + Taylor that helped ensure the calculator is user-friendly and has common methodology.
"It has also been shaped and road-tested by many others across the country including Transpower, the Port of Auckland, National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women, the Diversity Agenda, Champions for Change and Global Women," Grigg added.
"It is my strong desire for this to be a continued partnership with business as we make further developments to the toolkit over time, including considering ways to address ethnic pay gaps."
