Fact Sheet: New Zealand Women in the Labour Market

Employment
Women are currently 47 percent of the employed workforce. Womens increased participation in paid work has been one of the strongest employment trends over the last half century.

In the paid workforce, 516,378 women are working fulltime (30+ hours) and 287, 934 are in part-time work. Nearly a quarter of women in part-time employment would like longer hours.

Almost half of all the women working part time report looking after a child in the same household in the four weeks prior to the Census, compared with 32 percent of women working full time or not employed.

The 1999 Time Use Survey showed that on average women and men put in similar hours of total work, but 60 percent of mens work time is paid, while almost 70 percent of womens work time is unpaid.

Earnings
The 2001 Census showed that women received less income than men. The median annual income for women in the year to March 2001 was $14,500, compared with $24,900 for men.

The June 2001 Income Survey showed womens average hourly earnings were 84 percent of mens. This is called the gender pay gap. The average for Māori women was 73.8 percent, and for Pacific women 70.3 percent, compared with the average earnings for all men.

Reasons for the gender pay gap
A 2000 Department of Labour study of the gender pay gap estimated the following contributors: - differences in educational attainment - 10% - years of workforce experience - 15-50% - dependent children - 10% - occupational differences - 20-40% - unexplained - 5-50%

The 2001 Census showed young women were more likely than young men to be studying and more likely to have a post-school qualification. Nineteen percent of women aged 20 to 29 had a degree or higher level qualification, compared with 14 percent of men.

University reports on graduate employment show that women earn around $10,000 a year less than men after five years in the workforce. At this stage, most women graduates are young and have not had career breaks for childbearing.

Māori women and pay equity
The gender pay gap, and high levels of unemployment and under-employment, mean that there are major inequalities in the labour market for Māori people.

The difference between Māori women and Māori mens pay is relatively minor - Māori women earn 92.8 % of the pay earned by Māori men. The key difference in average hourly earnings is between Māori women and Pakeha men - 71%.

The underlying factors contributing to pay gaps and the impact on Māori women across the labour market have yet to be determined. Data and information is needed so that labour market outcomes for Māori women can be identified and, in partnership with Māori women, solutions developed. In consultation with Māori women, the Ministry of Womens Affairs will ascertain their views on pay equity and develop approaches for governments consideration.

The release of this discussion paper for consultation provides the opportunity for government to engage with women on discrimination in the labour market and to ensure positive policy outcomes for Māori.

A background to Pay Equity in New Zealand
The New Zealand situation reflects those of other countries. International studies have shown that the higher the proportion of women, or of an ethnic minority in an occupation, industry or work group, the lower their average earnings.

Pay equity is about whether womens jobs should get equal pay for work of equal value to mens jobs, as well as women and men getting equal pay when they do exactly the same job. It is an important international labour standard for which New Zealand has no current policy.

Statistics New Zealands Income Survey for June 2001 showed womens average hourly earnings were 84 percent of mens. The gender pay gap by ethnicity was even larger - Māori women were earning 73.8 percent and Pacific women 70.3 percent of the average hourly earnings of men.

Under the Equal Pay Act 1972 and the Government Services Equal Pay Act 1960 women and men in the same job must be paid the same rate. These Acts are still in force but, but because of changes in labour relations laws, they now only apply to women and men in the same job with the same employer.

Typically, women and men arent employed in the same job. In the 2001 Census, the 10 most common job categories for men were sales assistant, general manager, truck driver, builder/contractor, crop/livestock farmer/worker, labourer, dairy farmer/worker, retail manager, and slaughterer. One fifth of all male employees were in these jobs.

A third of all women employees were in the 10 most common occupations for women: sales assistant, general clerk, secretary, registered nurse, primary teacher, cleaner, caregiver, information clerk/receptionist, accounts clerk, and retail manager. A third of Māori women employees were in nine occupations, and a third of Pacific women employees were in 11 common occupations.

To address this effect, International Labour Organisation Convention 100 (ILO 100): Equal Remuneration and the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) enshrined the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. These were ratified by New Zealand in the 1980s.

Policies since then have addressed equal employment opportunities for women and other groups, but not pay equity. Human rights and employment laws prohibit discrimination in employment, but there is no requirement for employers to ensure equitable pay systems. The UN CEDAW Committee in 1999 raised this issue in commenting on New Zealands progress on the status of women.