History of the pay equity campaign in New Zealand

A brief summary from 1890 The issue of pay equity can be traced back to the 1890's when women campaigned for and won the right to vote.The question of equal pay was viewed by New Zealand suffragettes as the most important next to franchise itself.

Prevailing social beliefs of a womans place being at home along with a view that women were not as capable as men ensured lower wages for women.

The cheap labour of women was seen as a threat to men and boys competing for employment. As noted in public service journals of 1895:

"Are women prepared to take such responsibilities off the shoulders of men, and to become the breadwinners of the family? ... Nature has not intended them to compete with men in the hard work of the world, and all your artificial arrangements cannot alter the facts."

By 1893 over half of university students were women, while over 45,000 women were wage earners from a total adult female population of around 130,000.

Growing concern over the exploitation of women in heavily dominated female professions such as teachers and dressmakers, led to early calls for equal pay from womens organisations like the YWCA and the National Council of Women.

The newly formed National Council of Women adopted the concept of equal pay for equal work at its 1897 meeting. -105 years ago

The first minimum wage order of the Arbitration Court in 1919, set only a minimum rate for men.

The outbreak of the World War II saw many women become the main breadwinners of their families, as they took up jobs left by men.

In 1942, single women were ordered into essential occupations, while by 1944, all women up to the age of 44 were expected to register for work.

The public service soon expanded with many new wartime agencies being formed. In the 1940's women representatives of the Public Service Association (PSA) revived the issue of equal pay for equal work, setting up a sub-committee and sending out questionnaires about wages and conditions to its women members.

In 1957, both the National and Labour Parties made equal pay one of their platform issues in the forthcoming General Election. 45 years ago

The Council for Equal Pay and Opportunities was formed in 1957, with membership comprising womens organisations, trade unions and employer organisations.

A 1958 Working Party Report was completed, with the Labour Government then establishing an Equal Pay Implementation Committee. The struggles of the 1950s were replaced with the passing of the Government Service Equal Pay Act in 1960

The National Council of Women continued from it's first remit on equal pay in 1897 to pass further remits promoting action on equal pay.

In 1967, the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW) was established under the Labour Department Act 1954.

One of NACEWs first actions was to form a Committee of Inquiry into the Implementation of Equal Pay in New Zealand, including the private sector.

The Committees 1971 report recommended that equal pay should apply to every remuneration rate by way of an Equal Pay Act, which would then prohibit discrimination in pay rates on the basis of gender. This report also commented on the limited range of occupations undertaken by women.

The Equal Pay Act 1972 was passed in October of that year, extending the principle of equal pay to the private sector.

In February 1986, the Clerical Workers Union (CWA) took the first steps in rectifying difficulties with enforcement of the legislation by taking a case to the Arbitration Court.

CWA sought a ruling that employers should be directed to negotiate a claim for equal pay for work of equal value. The Court, stating that the awards in question had been accepted during the implementation of the 1972 Act and therefore a satisfactory level of compliance had been achieved, dismissed this case.

In 1985 women were still earning 22% less than men in ordinary hourly rates of pay.

A seminar for Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value was held at the Centre for Continuing Education, Victoria University of Wellington in April 1986. At this seminar, the beginnings of a national pay equity campaign evolved.

On 28 May 1986 the Coalition for Equal Value for Equal Pay (CEVEP) was established.

1990 saw the introduction and repeal of the Pay Equity Act.

Over the last decade little campaign action has occurred, but this has started to change over the last two years for example with NZUSA marking International Womens Day 2001 by drawing attention to the urgent need for pay equity

Background to this document:

The issue of pay equity, and specifically equal pay for work of equal value has not gone away.

Given the significant changes in the employment relations environment since the end of the national awards system in 1990, I believed that it would be useful to start with a wide discussion of the key issues which contribute to structural pay discrimination, and then we can focus on the solutions.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs has with useful input from their colleagues across the public sector and key commentators and experts, produced the document I am releasing to day.

The Government wants to promote the discussion and debate on this issue, and make sure it is clearly seen as being on our agenda.

Key Facts and Figures:

- 2001 SNZ Income Survey found women were earning 84% of men's average hourly earnings

- Maori women earn 74%, Pacific women 70% of the average of all men,

- Gender and ethnicity related issues are intertwined and require attention. The Ministry is working to ensure the voices of Maori and Pacific peoples contribute effectively to the pay gap debate.

- The gender pay gap has closed by 5% points over the last 17 years.

- The ethnicity gap was quite small in 1989-91, but by 1996-99 a significant wage penalty was associated with being Maori. The penalty was larger for Pacific people across the same decade

- Gender and ethnicity pay gaps affect women's life choices and the choices couples and families make about paid and unpaid work

- The next step goes beyond measuring the pay gap to start examining the value placed on work typically done by women, including Maori and Pacific women.

- Contributors to the pay gap include: gender differences in education levels, years of workforce experience and childcare responsibilities. Occupational differences also impact on the pay gap.

- The unexplained portion of the gap suggest direct discrimination and the continuing impact of past discrimination.

- While some policy addresses elements of the pay gap (eg eeo, educational strategies,childcare subsidies), occupational differences between men and women that are linked to lower average pay for women remains unaddressed.