- Hon Nicola Grigg
New Zealand's first business-backed Gender Pay Gap Toolkit has been expanded to include tools for calculating gender-ethnicity and gender-disability pay gaps. It also features new resources for small to medium sized businesses and a guide to support young women to confidently discuss pay at work, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says.
"I welcome the recent fall in the gender pay gap to 5.2 percent, the lowest since records began. However, this is a top-level index and below it sits numerous wider gaps.
"We know that gender pay gaps are not experienced equally and remain wider for women from some ethnic groups, with Asian women experiencing a pay gap of 10.2 percent, wāhine Māori at 12 percent, and Pacific women at 15.8 percent. The gender pay gap for disabled women compared to all men is 14.8 percent.
"These numbers remind us that while progress is being made overall, we have a long way to go - especially for these women who continue to face the largest gaps."
The expanded toolkit was developed in partnership with business, reflecting the shared commitment across the private and public sectors to take action on gender pay gaps and create fairer workplaces for all.
It provides clear guidance on how to measure and interpret gender pay gaps, with practical advice on collecting data, analysing results, and reporting actions. It highlights the links between different types of gender pay gaps, helping organisations to identify overlapping barriers and focus their effort where it will have the greatest impact.
For small and medium-sized businesses, the toolkit now includes a dedicated resource, developed with input from business. This guidance recognises that SMEs face different constraints to larger organisations and provides practical, tailored steps they can take to measure and address their gender pay gaps.
"I want to acknowledge former Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Dr Karanina Sumeo, who led engagement with communities to understand perspectives on ethnicity-pay gaps, as well as the YWCA Auckland and the community of young women who helped develop this comprehensive package.
"Thank you to the many New Zealand businesses that helped develop these resources and are leading the way by voluntarily measuring pay gaps, reporting data and implementing policies to ensure fairness for all.
"I encourage all businesses to access the new resources and take steps to measure and take action on their gender pay gaps".
