Women work ‘for free’ to 2020

New Zealand women will be working for free from yesterday until the start of next year due to the gender pay gap, the Council of Trade Unions says.

‘‘The gender pay imbalance in the average wage is 11.9 per cent. From November 18 there is 11.9 per cent of the year left,’’ vice-president Rachel Mackintosh said.

‘‘Because women aren’t paid equally to men, they are now working for free until the end of the year.’’

Pay inequality was worse for Ma¯ ori and Pasifika women, Mackintosh said. They started ‘‘working for free’’ on October 12 and September 29 respectively.

According to the Ministry for Women, the gender pay gap is ‘‘a highlevel indicator of the difference between women and men’s earnings’’.

It compares median hourly earnings for full- and part-time work.

In 1998, the gender pay gap was 16 per cent. It now sits at 11.9 per cent.

‘‘If the gender pay gap continues to close at the same rate it has since 1998, it will be 100 years – 2119 – until women are on average paid the same as men,’’ Mackintosh said.

‘‘It will take 36 years [to 2055] on the median wage trend.’’

Stats NZ figures showed that in the three months to June, the occupations with the largest gaps were professionals (16.7 per cent) and technicians and trade workers (16.2 per cent).

Mackintosh called on the Government to pass the Equal Pay Amendment Bill and make the gender pay gap a thing of the past.

‘‘Creating a more equal society requires a shift in values, it requires our society to value the contribution of everyone,’’ she said.

‘‘Our elected representatives can show they truly care about creating a more equal society with the passing of good law which breaks down the barriers to equal pay.’’