Closing The Gap

Closing the Gap
Papers from a CTU forum on equal pay in June 1997

Download the full report here (PDF file, 981 kb).  

Foreward

Over 120 people (mainly women) attended the forum on equal pay which was sponsored by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and held in Wellington on 13 June 1997. The numbers of people and organisations present confirmed that closing the gender pay gap is an issue whose time has come again.

Twenty five years have passed since the Equal Pay Act (EPA) became law. However a substantial gap remains between the rates of pay for men and women.

The aim of the forum was to reactivate the debate, action and strategies which will bring about an end to the pay gap. The CTU wanted to provide a place for research and opinion to be expressed. Hence this publication.

I want to record the CTU’s special thanks to Margaret Wilson who facilitated the forum. She opened the forum with a comprehensive review of the past and a clear analysis of directions for the future. This paper and her skill at drawing together the wide range of responses during the day contributed significantly to the success of the activity.

The CTU thanks those who wrote papers, gave presentations and shared their personal opinions. We also thank the discussion group presenters, the panel participants and the organisers. Everyone’s contributions helped to make the day stimulating and highly successful.

We hope that this publication of forum papers and comments will contribute to the ongoing work of researchers, policy analysts and lobbyists. The contributions are up to date and canvass a broad field of interest in closing the gender pay gap.

This publication represents the views of the authors and does not represent the views of any particular organisation. The CTU hopes that the work and commitment which follows the forum will inform the strategies and policies which will result in the pay gap being closed, fully and finally.

Angela Foulkes
Secretary
NZ Council of Trade Unions

Download the full report here (PDF file, 981 kb).