Bennett vows to fix gender pay gap

New Minister for Women Paula Bennett is promising action on closing New Zealand’s gender pay gap after progress slowed to a crawl over the past decade.

An annual study of 100 human resources managers in New Zealand has found 82 per cent of companies acknowledge a gender pay gap still exists.

The report by Robert Half found almost 97 per cent of companies were working to close the gap with the two most popular tactics being implementing pay transparency and linking promotions to pay rises.

This meant organisations were making sure employees understood how to apply for a pay rise, how pay-rise policies worked internally, and had a better understanding of the relationship between promotion and pay.

Robert Half general manager Megan Alexander said the gender pay gap was still an issue and would take time to close.

‘‘[The pay gap] has been steadily reducing since 1998 when it was around 16 per cent,’’ she said.

‘‘Now it’s 12 per cent, so it’s encouraging, but companies still have to work to implement these transparent polices, salary audits, keeping abreast of market conditions.’’

Bennett, who is also deputy prime minister, said she had personally experienced the gender pay gap while working as a dishwasher and nurse aide.

‘‘Now that I am in the position I’m in, my absolute focus is fighting for a solution to ensure that other New Zealand women don’t have to have the same experiences.’’

The Government intends to introduce a bill this year that will make it easier for women to file pay equity claims with their employers, rather than having to go through the courts.

The changes were prompted by the landmark court battle of agedcare worker Kristine Bartlett, who argued TerraNova Homes & Care in Lower Hutt was underpaying staff because of the high percentage of female employees.

A Court of Appeal decision found women in predominantly female workforces could make a claim for pay equity under the Equal Pay Act.

Bennett said there had been some progress in the public sector, where the gender pay gap fell by 0.5 per cent last year and the amount of women in senior leadership roles reached 45 per cent.

New Zealand’s gender pay gap was still one of the lowest in the OECD, and has reduced from 22 per cent in 1985, she said.

But the difference in pay between men’s and women’s wages grew between 2012 to 2015, according to Statistics NZ.

In the June 2015 quarter, the median hourly pay for men was $24.07 and $21.23 for women. This meant men earned almost 12 per cent more per hour of work than women.

Massey University lecturer Deborah Russell said she hoped the Government would provide enough funding to implement pay equity, especially in health and education.