Women’s Employment Action Plan is officially being designed by Manatū Wāhine the Ministry, after being approved by cabinet as part of the Government’s Employment Strategy.
This important plan is designed to avoid the ‘shecession’ caused by Covid, while healing the wounds inflicted on female workers during the pandemic. It’s overall focus is to consider the short-term employment challenges women face, in order to position the workforce to bounce back better.
Overall, the Employment Action Plan aim is to ensure that women are less vulnerable to unprecedented changes in the labour market as we saw in Covid-19. This will include identifying what’s needed to support women in the employment spaces, and to address gender roles and stereotypes that might ringfence women in what they do with their lives.
In addition, the plan will align with the women’s perspectives being incorporated into the six other employment action plans being developed — ensuring a truly diverse and intersectional approach to Aotearoa’s future employment landscape.
This plan doesn’t end at mitigating specific Covid-related employment woes for women: if the plan comes together, cabinet will vote later this year on whether to go ahead with a larger agenda to reduce gender inequality.
Read more about this initiative here: