Govt commits to zero pay gap

By the end of 2020 all government agencies will have closed any gender pay gaps within the same roles, Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter says.

Genter, about to go on maternity leave, yesterday unveiled an ambitious plan to close the roughly 12.5 per cent gender pay gap in the public service.

The plan also included making flexible work normal in government agencies, in the hope of inspiring private-sector change.

By 2020 all government agencies would be ‘‘flexible by default’’, said Genter, speaking at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The venue was chosen because the museum is

hosting the Are we there yet? Women

and Equality in Aotearoa exhibition. Genter said that by the end of this year there would be no gender pay gaps in starting salaries for the same roles.

By the end of 2019 women would hold at least 50 per cent of leadership roles in the top three tiers of leadership in government agencies.

State Services Minister Chris Hipkins said the Government expected state departments to manage the shift within their current baseline spending, but he admitted some might ask for more money in their next funding round.

Hipkins said the plan would accelerate action across the public service to address the underlying workplace culture issues that drive the gender pay gap.

He reflected on the importance of gender equality to his own family.

‘‘In a couple of months we are going to be having a baby girl,’’ said Hipkins.

‘‘I don’t want her to grow up in a world where her value as a citizen, as an employee, would be in any way determined by her gender.’’