Addressing gender and ethnic pay gaps has been a key focus in our mahi here at Global Women. Recently, we proudly stood as one of 20 organisations backing MindTheGap NZ’s launching of Public Pay Gap Registry — a move to encourage nation-wide organisational pay gap reporting — as well as last years’ campaign on the last working day for women in November.
A new move brings Āotearoa one step closer to closing the pay gap: MPs are currently developing policy that could see this compulsory public reporting on pay data become reality.
The education and work force committees will be conducting a briefing into pay transparency, drawing on information from existing pay-gap projects and research to do so.
It will be finalised early this year, and expect ministerial colleagues will turn it into legislation after it was “something the Government has said it is interested in doing something on,” says Camilla Belich, a first-term Labour list MP and committee member. “If the Government was to put something in, you would hope it would be a uniquely New Zealand answer to this issue and so it might be that it includes ethnic pay gaps which I think have only been instituted in one or two other countries as well as the gender pay gap.”
Read the full article by Audrey Young on nzherald.co.nz to hear more about the plan, exactly what will be included, and the submissions to the committee.