Maori and Pacific academics paid less

Maori and Pacific academics are paid and promoted less than their colleagues — with the inequalities even worse for women, a new study has found.

The research by Dr Tara McAllister, a postdoctoral fellow at Te Punaha Matatini, found a substantial pay gap that could not be explained by factors other than ethnicity.

The study looked at 17,174 academics from all eight New Zealand universities and took into account earnings and promotions between 2003 and 2018.

The research found that even when the differences were taken into account, Maori and Pacific women academics earned on average $7713 less in 2018 than non-Maori and nonPacific men. Maori and Pacific academics were also significantly less likely to be promoted to associate professor or professor. “These gaps were not explained by research performance, age, or field of study.”

McAllister said the inequalities persisted over time, particularly for women. “Ethnic inequities were particularly stark for Maori and Pacific women,” she said.

Even after taking into account research performance, age, and field, Maori and Pacific women had 65 per cent lower odds of being promoted into the professoriate than non-Maori and non-Pacific male academics.

“This is something the institutions need to address,” McAllister said.

“I hope they pick this paper up as a challenge we are laying down for them, that they will consider where sexism and racism are in the academy. I would like to see the Government . . . put some outside pressure on.”

McAllister said the findings support her previous research which found Maori and Pacific academics were under-represented in New Zealand universities — making up 5 per cent and 1 per cent of all academics respectively.

“This present research shows that they are also less likely to be promoted, and are paid substantially less than other university academics irrespective of their research performance. Universities need to urgently address the racial disparities in promotion, retention and recruitment of Maori and Pacific academics,” she said.

University of Auckland Pro ViceChancellor, Maori, Professor Cindy Kiro said the university “is looking seriously at how we can increase the number and ratio of Maori staff in both academic and professional positions”.